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FAMILY PRAYERS 


COLLECTED FROM THE 


SACRED SCRIPTURES, THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, 
AND THE WORKS OF BISHOP WILSON. 


J C'Jxt fwpvv/ 

By tiif. Ri^iit Rev. WILLIAM MEAD, D. D. 

Assistant Bishop of Virginia. 



x>; - 

ALEXANDRIA, D. C. 


PUBLISHED BY WM. M. MORRISON. 

Wm. Greer, Printer. 




2 / 








Entered according to Act of Congress, on the 15th of April, in the 
year 1834, by William M. Morrison, in the Clerk’s Office of the 
District Court for the District of Columbia. 


2 CL 




PREFACE. 


The following prayers, with a few' exceptions, and some 
alterations, have been used in the family of the compiler, al¬ 
ternately with other forms and extemporaneous addresses to 
the Throne of Grace, for many years. They are now offered 
to the public, not without the advice, and even importunity of 
some friends, in the hope that they will be both useful and ac¬ 
ceptable. Nothing need be said in commendation of the sources 
from whence they are derived. The words which the Holy 
Ghost useth, and in which the saints of all ages have delighted 
to express their religious feelings, must be the most suitable 
of all others as the vehicle of prayer. Five of the following 
prayers are in that consecrated language. Others are taken 
from the book of Common Prayer, and are chiefly composed 
of collects used only on the Sabbath, and on certain public 
occasions, but whose superior excellency renders it desirable 
that they should be brought into more frequent use. The 
pious commentator, Mr. Thomas Scott, in speaking of the 
different books of devotion which he tried in the earlier part 
of his life, says, “but had I duly considered the subject, the 
common prayer book of our Church, with a little arrangement, 
would have supplied me with far more suitable words than 
any book of the kind I had then seen, or have ever yet seen. 
A selection ofcollects, parts of collects, and extracts from the 
litany, varied as circumstances should rf quire, I am now fully 
convinced, might be rendered in all respects preferable to any 



4 


other forms which have been published.” An attempt is 
here made to execute this design in some degree, and the au¬ 
thor will be highly gratified if it shall lead some one else to 
fulfil it more perfectly. A moment’s reflection will satisfy 
any one that from the character of the materials composing 
these forms, and the manner of their combination, it was im¬ 
possible to arrange each one under the usual divisions of con¬ 
fession, supplication, thanksgiving, and intercession: it is 
hoped, however, that all these subjects will be found substan¬ 
tially incorporated in them, and that nothing is omitted which 
is requisite to aid the soul in true devotion. To some, per¬ 
haps, they may appear defective in length, but whoever will 
notice their striking comprehensiveness, will read them slowly 
and emphatically, giving the mind time to dwell on their true 
meaning, and the heart opportunity to raise its affections to¬ 
wards Heaven, will, it is believed, withdraw the objection, 
especially when they are used in families composed of persons 
of different ages and characters, whose uneasiness under 
lengthened exercises ought not to be disregarded. Such as 
they are, the author now presents them to the Christian public, 
in the humble hope, that by the divine blessing, they will ren¬ 
der no inconsiderable help to many individuals and families in 
the most important of all transactions, their intercourse with 
Heaven. 

April, 1834. 


EXCEILLEMT REMARKS Oif PRA¥EtfS, 


1)Y BISHOP WILSON. 


True devotion consists in having our hearts always devot¬ 
ed to God, as the sole fountain of all happiness, and who is 
ready to hear and to help his otherwise helpless and misera¬ 
ble creatures. 

It IS TO BE OBTAINED- 

I 

Istly. By earnest prayer! lie that hungers and thirsts 
after righteousness will certainly be filled. 

2dly. Bv possessing our hearts with a deep sense of our 
own misery and s : nfulness, our wants and danger. 

3dly. By consi ering God’s goodness, power, and readiness 
to help. 

Lastly. By convincing our hearts of the vanity of every 
tiling else to afford us any real help or coinfort. 

Dying persons are generally more devout than others, be¬ 
cause they then see their misery ; that nothing in this world 
can help them, and that God is their only refuge. 

The spirit of God wil not dwell in a divided heart. We 
cannot feel the pleasures of devotion, while the world is our 
delight. Not that all pleasures are criminal, but the closer 
our union with the wo Id, the less our union with God. A 
Christian, therefore, who strives after devotion, should taste 
sensual pleasures v ( -rv sp i.in_.ly; should make necessity, not 
boddy delight. Ins rule. 



6 


xle that would be devout, must beware of indulging a habit 
of wandering in prayer; it is a crime that will grow upon us, 
and deptive us of the happiness we pray for. 

Avoid, as much as may be, multiplicity of business. Nei¬ 
ther the innocency nor the goodness of our employment will 
excuse, if it possess our hearts when we are praying to God. 

Never be curious to know what passes in the world, any 
farther than duty obliges you ; it will only distract the mind 
when it should be better employed. 

Never intermit devotion, if you can help it: you will return 
to your duty like Sampson, shorn of his locks, weak and indif¬ 
ferent as oilier people of the world. 

The cftener we renew our intercourse with God, the great¬ 
er will be our devotion. Frequent prayer, as it is an exer¬ 
cise of holy thoughts, is a most natural remedy against the 
power of sin. Importunity makes no change in God, but it 
creates in us such dispositions as God thinks proper to re¬ 
ward. 

Make it a law to yourself to meditate before you pray, as 
also to make certain pauses, to see if your hearts go along 
with your lips. They whose hearts desire nothing, pray for 
nothing. 

lie that ftas learnt to pray as he ought, has got the secret 
of a holy life. 

The best way to prevent wandering in prayer, is not to let 
our minds wander too much at other times; but to have God 
always in our thoughts, in the whole course of our lives. 

The ml of prayer is not to inform God, hut to give man a 
sight of his own misery and sinfulness ; to raise his soul to¬ 
wards heaven, and to put him in mind that there is his father 
and ink ritanee. 

It is rudeness among men to ask a favor, and not stay for an 
answer; and do we count it no fault to pray for blessings, 


7 


and never think of them afterwards? Never to wait for them ? 
Never give God thanks for them? 

Let us not run over our prayers with an insensible and dis¬ 
tracted mind. 

Let your prayer be as particular as may be against the sins 
of your particular state, for the graces which you in particu¬ 
lar do most stand in need of. This is the best preservative 
against sin; makes us best acquainted with our condition ; 
puts us continually in mind of mending what is amiss ; lets us 
see what particular graces we most need, what are most 
needful lor the cure of our own particular corruption and dis¬ 
order. 

The de\il knows, that when we have a relish for prayer, 
and apply ourselves in good earnest to it, that we are in the 
way of life ; he therefore strives, by every way possible, to di. 
vert us. 

God will deny us no good thing that we really desire and ask 
in the name of his son ; when we offer up our prayer through 
his mediation, it is then he that prays, his love that inter¬ 
cedes, his blood that pleads; it is he that obtains all from his 
father. 

The neglect of prayer is very, often punished by God’s 
leaving men to themselves and to their own wicked ways; 
which ever did and ever will end in ruin. 

The cause of which is plain ; constant and wilful omission 
of this duty is a sure way to lose the knowledge and remem¬ 
brance of God, his word and promises, and then men will 
have no motives to love or to fear God, nor any reason to hope 

for good from him. It will also very naturally lead 

people to depend upon themselves only; to forget their sad 
condition and misery, that they are liable to God’s wrath, and 
♦even to damnation. 



8 


The most sure way to avoid this, is to dedicate some lime, 
every day of our lives, to the worship of Go:l; by doing this 
we shall retain God in our knowledge, provided it be per¬ 
formed out of a deep sense of our own wants and miseries, 
with a firm faith in God’s promises to fulfil the desires of 
them that fear him, and with an eye to the blood of Jesus 
our Redeemer, for whose sake,' and through whose suffering, 
we are reconciled to God, and God to us. 

To begin and end the day with God is the likeliest w r ay to 
make servants faithful, children dutiful, wiv (33 obedient, and 
husbands sober, loving, and careful, every one acting as in the 
sight of God. 

This is the way to entail piety upon the generations to come. 
When children and servants cornu to have families of their 
own, they cannot be easy till they fall into the same serious 
method which they have been long used to. 

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when 
he is old he will not depart from it; nor perhaps his chil¬ 
dren after him for many generations. 

THE DUTY AND BENEFIT OF MORNING PRAYER. 

Very many are the evil cunsequences of going without 
God into a world full of dangers and temptation, which, of 
ourselves, we can neither foresee nor escape. W 7 hoever 
considers this, and the infinite mischief which may follow, 
will never venture abroad without praying for God’s guid¬ 
ance, protection, and blessing, every morning of his life. 

THE GREAT BENEFIT AND DUTY OF EVENING PRAYER. 

Bleep, said a great man, is so much like death, that I 
dare not trust it without saying my prayers ; and indeed, 
for fear of the worst, a thoughtful Christian will take care 
to make his peace with God before he goes to sleep, and 
put himself under God’s protection every evening of his 
life, that he may he safe from the fear of evil. 



PRAYER I. 

from tiie scriptures.— Morning or Evening. 

Unto thee, O Lord, do we lift up our souls. Thou 
art worthy to receive blessing, and honor, and glory, 
and power; and for thy pleasure and thy praise, 
they arc and were created. O Lord, we are 
ashamed, and blush to lift up our faces before.thee; 
for our iniquities are increased over our heads, and 
our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. If thou 
contend with us, we are not able to answer thee one 
of a thousand. The imaginations of the thoughts of 
our hearts have been evil, only evil, and that from 
our youth up. 

How seldom art thou, O God, in all our thoughts. 
How unadvisedly have we spoken with our lips, 
when our spirits have been provoked within us. 
How have we grieved that Holy Spirit by which we 
are sealed unto the day of redemption. Thou 
mightest justly swear in thy wrath that we should 
never enter into thy re st. But, oh, the riches of the 
patience and forbearance of our God! how long 
suffering is he towards us, not willingj:hat any should 
perish. O, that his goodness might lead us to re¬ 
pentance, and his long suffering prove our salvation! 


10 


Weary and heavy laden with the burden of our sins, 
we come to our Lord for rest. We would look un¬ 
to him whom we have pierced with our sins, and 
mourn in bitterness. We would smite upon our 
breasts, and cry, God be merciful to us. May the 
love of tiie spirit of life in Christ Jesus, make us 
free from the love of sin and death. We bless thee 
that thou hast laid our help upon one so mighty to 
save, and who hast redeemed us from the curse of 
the law by being made a curse for us. We bless 
thee that he is still our advocate at thy right hand, 
and ever livest to make intercession for us. We 
bless thee for all the other benefits with which thou 
loadest us. Thy goodness is thy glory, and there¬ 
fore do thy saints praise thee. Every day will we 
bless thee, and praise thy name for ever and ever* 
And let the people praise thee, O God ; yea, let all 
the people praise thee. O, let all the nations upon 
earth be glad, and sing for joy. Let thy salvation 
and righteousness be openly showed in the sight of 
the heathen, and let all the ends of the earth see 
the salvation of our God. Add to thy church daily 
of such as shall be saved. Make thy ministers 
mighty in the scriptures, thoroughly furnished unto 
every good work. Bless the schools of the pro¬ 
phets in our land. Purify those fountains; and may 
streams issue therefrom, to make glad the city of 
our God, and refresh the whole earth. Make those 



11 


who abound in the goods of this worl l to be rich 
in good works, and willing to communicate of their 
store. Make the kings of the earth to be nursing 
fathers, and the queens to be nursing mothers to thy 
church; and soon may the kingdoms of this world 
become the kingdoms of our Lord Jesus Christ; in 
whose name we olTer up our prayers, and in the 
full meaning of whose blessed words we would 
sum up all our petitions at a throne of grace: Our 
Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name; 
thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it 
is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and 
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who 
trespass against us; lead us not into temptation, but 
deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and 
the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 


PRAYER II. 

from the scriptures.— Morning or Evening . 

O thou great and glorious God, who art from 
everlasting to everlasting, the same yesterday, to¬ 
day, and for ever, we would endeavor to lift up our 
hearts with our eyes and hands unto thee in the 
heavens. Who is a God like unto thee? glori¬ 
ous in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders. 
O Lord, behold we are vile; what shall we answer 
thee? We will lay our hands on our mouths, and 
our mouths in the dust, if so there may be hope, 



12 


k 

crying, unclean! unclean ! It is of thy mercy that 
we are not consumed, because thy compassion fail 
not. If thou shouldst be strict to mark iniquity 
against us, who could stand? but there is forgiveness 
with thee, and plenteous redemption. O God, we 
would acknowledge and bewail our sins. We have 
walked in the ways of our own hearts, and in the sight 
of our own eyes, fulfilling the desires of the flesh 
and of the mind. We have not obeyed the voice 
of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws which he 
hath set before us. Even the good that we would, 
that we do not; and the evil that we would not, 
that we do. O, wretched creatures that we are, 
who shall deliver us? Truly our hope is in thee, 
O God. All our desire is before thee, and our 
groaningis not hid from thee. Though our sins have 
been as scarlet, let them be white as snow; though red 
like crimson, let them be as wool; and make us will¬ 
ing and obedient. O God, have compassion upon 
us, subdue our iniquities, and cast all our sins into 
the depth of the sea. O, that we may be found in 
Christ, not having our own righteousness, but the 
righteousness which is by faith. Justified by faith, 
may we have peace with God, through our Lord 
Jesus Christ. May the Holy Ghost, the Comforter, 
witness with our spirits that we are the children of 
God. May it fill us with all joy and peace in be¬ 
lieving, and make us abound in hope. May we 



13 


adore the height, and depth, and length of that 
great love of Christ which passeth knowledge. O, 
that his way may be known upon earth, and his 
saving health among all nations. O God, give thy 
Son the heathen for his inheritance, and the utter¬ 
most part of the earth for his possession. Revive 
thy work in the midst of the years. Disappoint 
all those who take counsel together against the 
Lord, and against his anointed. Let no weapon 
formed against thy church prosper. May wisdom 
and knowledge be the stability of our times, and 
the fear of the Lord our treasure. May all Chris¬ 
tians be perfectly joined together in the same mind, 
and in the same judgment. Hasten the time when 
wars shall cease unto the end of the world, and na¬ 
tion shall no more lift up sword against nation, nor 
kingdom against kingdom, but'swords shall be beat¬ 
en into ploughshares, and spears into pruning- 
hooks, and men shall learn war no more. Grant 
these prayers, O heavenly Father, for the sake of 
thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, in whose own words 
we would pray for ourselves, and all mankind: 
Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy 
name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on 
earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily 
bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive 
those who trespass against us; lead us not into 

temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the 
2 



14 


kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. 
Amen. 

PRAYER III. 

from the scriptures.— Morning or Evening . 

O thou King eternal, immortal, and invisible; 
clouds and darkness are round about tbee, judg¬ 
ment and justice are the habitation of thy throne. 
Thou art the high and lofty one who inhabitest 
eternity, whose name is holy; and yet we bless 
thee that thou art not far from every one of us, 
being ever more ready to hear, than we to pray. 
With humble boldness we would approach unto 
thee by that new and living way which thou hast 
consecrated by the blood of Jesus. With angels 
and archangels, and all the company of heaven, 
we would laud and magnify thy glorious name. 
Thou art our God, and we will praise thee ; our 
fathers’ God, and we will exalt thee. Thou art 
God alone. All nations before thee are as nothing, 
less than nothing and vanity. In thy hand is the 
soul of every living thing, and the breath of all 
mankind. The eyes of all wait upon thee, and 
thou givest them their meat in due season; thou 
openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desires of 
every living thing. Thou art good, and doest good, 
and thy mercy is to the sons of men. Therefore, 
O Lord, we, who are but dust and ashes, will take 



15 


it upon us to speak unto thee. We are not worthy, 
O Lord, of the very least of all thy mercies. It is 
of thy mercy that we are not consumed. We 
would humble ourselves under thy mighty hand. 
Make us to know our transgression and sin. 
Grant us that godly sorrow which worketh repent¬ 
ance not to be repented of. Wash us thoroughly 
from our iniquity, and cleanse us from our sin. 
Give us wise and understanding hearts. Increase 
our faith, and perfect that which is lacking in us, 
that we may be able to overcome the world. As 
we have received Christ Jesus, our Lord, so ena¬ 
ble us to walk in him, and be rooted and grounded 
in him. May thy love, O God, be shed abroad in 
our hearts by the Holy Ghost, and may we love 
one another with a pure heart fervently, so that 
all may know that we are the disciples of Christ. 
Lord, give us grace to deny ourselves, and take up 
our cross daily, that we may keep under our bodies 
and bring them into subjection. Set a watch, 0 
Lord, before our mouths, and keep the door of our 
lips, that we offend not in words. Make us wise 
as serpents, and harmless as doves. In every 
thing may we give thanks unto thee, 0 Lord; but 
especially may w T e be joyful in thy great salvation. 
When there was no eye to pity, and no arm to save, 
even then thou didst say unto us, Live. While we 
live, therefore, we will praise the Lord, and sing 


16 


praises unto our God while we have any being. 
May all the people that now sit in darkness see 
this great light, and rejoice in it. 0 Lord, arise, 
and have mercy upon Zion, and let the time to fa¬ 
vor her come. Let thy w T ord have free course 
and be glorified in all places ; and soon may its 
knowledge cover the earth, as the waters do the 
great deep. These, our prayers, we offer up, hop¬ 
ing to be heard, not for our righteousness, but for 
the righteousness of him in whom thou art well 
pleased, calling him thy beloved son, in whom is 
our only hope, and in whose comprehensive words 
we would further pray for ourselves, and all man¬ 
kind: Our Father, who art in heaven ; hallowed 
be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done 
on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our 
daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as -we 
forgive those who trespass against us; lead us not 
into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine 
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for 
ever. Amen. 


PRAYER IV. 

from tiie scriptures.— Morning or Evening. 

O thou King of Kings and Lord of Lords, who 
dwellest in the light which no man can approach, 
whom no man hath seen or can see, but who art 
nevertheless not far from every one of us, vouch- 



17 


safe to listen to the supplications of thy poor needy 
creatures. Whom have we in Heaven but thee, 
and there is none upon earth that we desire but 
thee. O Lord, we know not how to pray as we 
ought; let thy spirit help our infirmities, and inter¬ 
cede within us with groanings not to be uttered. O 
Lord, thou madest us, and not we ourselves; we are 
thy people and the sheep of thy pasture. O Lord, 
the way of man is not in himself; it is notin man 
that walketh to direct his steps. We are wise to 
do evil, but to do good we have no knowledge. 
Out of our hearts proceed all manner of evil things, 
and thou art of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. 
But thou hast not dealt with us after our sins, nor 
rewarded us according to our iniquities, but hath 
been very gracious to us. O, put thy fear into our 
hearts, that we may not any more sin against thee. 
Take away our hearts ol* stone, and give us hearts 
of flesh, that we may love thee for all thy goodness 
to us. Lift up the light of thy countenance upon 
us, and put gladness into our hearts, far more than 
when corn and wine aboundeth. Write thy love 
upon our hearts, and make us to delight to do thy 
will. Give us grace to walk worthy of the high 
vocation wherewith we are called, with all lowli¬ 
ness, and meekness, and long suffering, forbearing 
one another in love. May we abound more and 
more in love to all men, and, as we have opportu- 
2 * 


18 


nity, do good to all men. Make us to be zealously 
affected in every good work; and whatever we do, 
may we do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to 
men. May we serve the Lord in joyfulness and 
gladness of heart all our days, ever going on our 
way rejoicing. Teach us, O Lord, in whatever 
state we are in, therewith to he content. And when 
we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 
he thou with us, that we may fear no evil: then may 
we joyfully give thanks unto thee for giving us the 
victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

And may all who are now sitting in the region 
and shadow of death come to the glorious light of 
thy gospel. Let the sorrowful sighing of the pri¬ 
soners come before thee; and according to the great¬ 
ness of thy power, preserve thou those who are ap¬ 
pointed to die. Look with compassion on a world 
that is lying in wickedness. Do good in thy good 
pleasure unto Zion. Build thou the walls of Jeru¬ 
salem, and let peace he within her walls and pros¬ 
perity within her palaces. From the rising of the 
sun even unto the going down of the same, let thy 
name he great among the heathen; and in every 
place may incense he offered unto thee, and a peace 
offering. For all these blessings on ourselves and 
our fellow creatures, we would further pray in the 
perfect and comprehensive words of him who taught 
us when we pray to say: Our Father, who art in 



19 


heaven; hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; 
thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven^ 
give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our 
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against 
us; lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power, and the 
glory, for ever. Amen. 

TRAYER V. 

from the scriptures.— Morning or Evening. 

O great and glorious Jehovah, King eternal, 
immortal, and invisible, author of our being, crea¬ 
tor of all worlds, whose dominion is an everlasting 
dominion, and whose kingdom is from generation to 
generation, to whom power belongeth, and with 
whom nothing is impossible; we would join the in¬ 
numerable company of angels, and the spirits of the 
just made perfect, in adoring and praising thee. 
Thousand thousands of them minister unto thee, 
and ten thousand times ten thousands stand before 
thee and do thy pleasure. It is a good thing to 
give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto 
thy name, to show forth thy loving kindness in the 
morning, and thy faithfulness every night. Thy 
tender mercies are over ^11 thy works. Thou vi- 
sitest the earth and waterest it. Thou causest the 
grass to grow for the cattle, and herbs for the use 
of man, and bread which strengthens man’s heart. 



20 


Thou crownest the year with thy goodness. All 
creatures wait upon thee, and thou givest them 
their meat in due season. By thee kings reign, and 
princes decree justice. All nations before thee are 
as nothing, less than nothing, and vanity. When 
we consider the heavens, the work of thy hands, 
the moon and stars which thou hast created, well 
may we exclaim, Lord, what is man that thou 
shouldest be so mindful of him, or the son of man 
that thou shouldest set thine heart upon him and 
magnify him? O blessed Jesus, who thought it not 
robbery to be equal with God, we would honor thee, 
even as we honor the Father; for thou art the 
brightness of the Father’s glory, and the express 
image of his person. Thou art the true God and 
eternal life; for thou and the Father art one, thou 
in him and he in thee. No man can come to the 
Father but by thee; for thou art the way, the truth 
and the life. Thou dost ever live to make inter¬ 
cession for us at the right hand of God the Father, 
Worthy, therefore, is the Lamb that was slain to re¬ 
ceive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
and honor, and glory, and blessing; for he was 
slain, and hast redeemed us to God by his blood. 
Believing in thee, blessed Jesus, we would rejoice 
with joy unspeakable and full of glory; for thou 
wert our Immanuel, God with us on earth. And 
we wmuld worship and adore thee, also, O Holy 




21 


Ghost, the Comforter, who proeeedeth from the 
Father and the Son, by whose blessed operation 
we are convinced of sin, and by whose holy guid¬ 
ance we are led to the Saviour, and enabled to call 
him Lord, to the glory of God the Father. O do 
thou who art sent to teach us all things, show us 
more and more of the plague of our own hearts, 
and open our eyes that we may see the won¬ 
drous things out of the law of God. Make us, by 
thy power, to abound in hope, and to be filled with 
comfort in all our tribulations. Strengthen us with 
might in the inner man, and make our bodies to 
be even the temple in which thou dost delight to 
dwell. And may our whole body, soul, and spirit, 
be sanctified wholly, and preserved blameless until 
the coming of our Lord. O great Jehovah—Holy 
—Holy—Holy—Lord God of Hosts—Father, Son 
and Spirit—fulfil in us all the good pleasure of thy 
goodness. Be thou with us, and be greater than 
all who are against us. Let thy grace be suffi¬ 
cient for us. Enable us to resist the Devil, that he 
may flee us. If a good work be begun in us, per¬ 
form it, we pray thee, until the day of Christ. And 
may the grace of our blessed Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, and the love of God our heavenly 
Father, and the sweet fellowship of the Holy Spirit, 
the Sanctifier and Comforter, be with us, to redeem, 
to sanctify, and glorify us, now and for evermore. 


22 


Amen. Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed 
be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done 
on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our 
daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we 
forgive those who trespass against us; lead us not 
into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine 
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for 
ever. Amen. 


PRAYER VI. 

from bishop wilson.— Morning . 

Accept of our thanks, O thou giver of all good, for 
having preserved us through another night, and 
brought us to the light of another day. Continue 
this thy guardian care to us, O gracious God, un¬ 
til the night of death is past, when we beseech thee 
to raise us up to everlasting life. We gratefully 
acknowledge our dependence upon thee for all the 
necessaries, conveniences, and comforts of this life, 
and for everlasting happiness hereafter. We give 
thee thanks for the light of thy gospel, and the help 
of thy grace, and for the promise thou hast made of 
pardon and forgiveness through thy Son Jesus 
Christ, on our sincere repentance and amendment. 
Give us, we beseech thee, such a sense of these 
and all thy other mercies, as may make us truly 
thankful to thee for them. Give us grace, O God, 
ever to walk as in thy sight, making a conscience 



23 


of all our ways, and fearing to offend thee, so that 
we may never fall into those sins of which we have 
already repented. Enable us to resist and over¬ 
come the temptations of the world, the flesh, and 
the Devil; to follow the motions of thy good spirit, 
to be serious and holy in our lives, true and just in 
our dealings, watchful over our thoughts, words, 
and actions, diligent in our business, and temperate 
in all things. Give us grace to improve all the ta¬ 
lents committed to our trust; and may no worldly 
business, no worldly pleasures, divert us from the 
concerns of the world to come. May thy blessing be 
upon our person, upon our labors, and upon all that 
belongs to us, and may we never undertake any 
work that we dare not beg of thee to prosper. O 
heavenly Master, bless us, we pray, with good and 
faithful servants; and grant that we may perform 
all the duties of Christian rulers; that we may have 
a tender concern for the welfare, both of their souls 
and bodies, and be examples to them of sobriety, 
justice, and piety, so that we may be an household 
fearing God; and may thy blessing rest upon them 
and upon all our affairs committed to their trust. 
And O God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
for his sake bless our children. Grant them 
healthful bodies, understanding souls, and sanctified 
hearts. Keep them from all dangers and sad ac¬ 
cidents. Let thy grace preserve them from the 


24 


temptations of an evil world, and may we never be 
wanting in any part of our duty towards them. Be 
thou, O Father, their guide and portion in this 
world and in that which is to come. Pour down, 
also, bountiful Lord, thy blessings upon all our re¬ 
lations, friends, and neighbors. May they all be 
partakers of thy grace in this world, and inheritors 
of everlasting glory hereafter. And hear us, gra¬ 
cious God, while we further pray in the name and 
perfect words of our blessed Lord, for ourselves, our 
friends, and all mankind: Our Father, who art in 
heaven; hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; 
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; 
give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us 
our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass 
against us; lead us not into temptation, but deliver 
us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, the power, 
and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

PRAYER VII. 

from bishop wilson.— Evening. 

O Lord and Heavenly Father, we acknow¬ 
ledge thy great goodness to us in sparing us 
while we deserve punishment, in continuing to 
us the good things of this life, and setting before 
us the happiness of a better. In the midst of 
life we are in death. Grant, O Lord, that this 
solemn thought may make us careful how we 






25 


live, that we may escape the bitter pains of eter- 
nal death. O merciful Lord, pardon our offen¬ 
ces, correct and amend whatever is amiss in us, 
that as we grow in age, we may grow in grace, 
and the nearer we come to our latter end, the 
better we may be prepared for it. Give us a 
true knowledge of ourselves, of the corruption 
of our nature, and the necessity of thy gracious 
help to save us from ruin. Take from us ail 
ignorance and hardness of heart, and too much 
carefulness for the things of this life. May the 
spirit of Christ ever live and rule in us, possess¬ 
ing our souls with a sincere desire of pleasing 
thee, and a great dread of offending thee. De¬ 
liver us, we pray thee, O God, from the sin that 
does most easily beset us, from the lust of the 
flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, 
from all unprofitable and sinful thoughts, from 
lying lips and deceitful tongues, from uncharita¬ 
ble hearts and wavering minds. Let thy love, 
O God, be shed abroad in our hearts by the 
power of the Holy Ghost; and grant that it may 
appear in our whole life and conversation, to 
thy honor and glory. 

Preserve in our souls, O blessed Lord, such 
a constant and clear sense of our obligations to 
thee, that, upon the receipt of every favor, we 
3 . 


26 


may immediately turn our eyes to him from 
whom cometh our salvation. May thy mani¬ 
fold blessings fix such lasting impressions upon 
our souls, that we may always praise thee joy¬ 
fully here on earth, until it shall please thee, of 
thy unbounded mercy, to call us nearer the 
place of thy heavenly habitation, to praise our 
Lord and deliverer to all eternity. In like man¬ 
ner, we pray thee, O Lord, to remember all our 
friends and relations, making them partakers of 
the same blessings which we ask for ourselves. 
And we pray for our enemies, if such there are, 
not for vengeance, but for mercy; that thou 
wouldst change their hearts by thy grace, or re¬ 
strain their malice by thy power. Thou hast 
been all mercy to us, O God; grant that we 
may be so to all others. Bless, we also pray 
thee, all whom thy providence hath set over us, 
whether in church or state; and give us grace to 
obey them for conscience sake. Look down in 
pity and forgiveness on the world which thou 
hast created. Overrule the commotions of the 
earth. Bring order out of confusion, and light 
out of darkness. Establish the reign of peace 
and righteousness upon earth, and let the Sa¬ 
viour’s kingdom be set up in every land and eve¬ 
ry heart. These our prayers we offer up in the 




27 


all-prevailing name of our great Redeemer, in 
whose own blessed words we would pray, as he 
hath taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven; 
hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy 
will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us 
this day our daily bread; and forgive us our 
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass 
against us; lead us not into temptation, but de¬ 
liver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and 
the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 


PRAYER VIII. 
from bishop wilson.— Morning. 

Almighty and eternal God, by whose provi¬ 
dence we are sustained, we, the work of thy 
hands, and part of thy care, sensible of thy good¬ 
ness hitherto vouchsafed us, are here prostrate 
before thee, to implore thy mercy and protection 
for the time to come. We confess, O Lord, 
tliat our past ingratitude and sin might justly 
provoke thee to leave us to ourselves. But 
since thou hast given us some sense of our un¬ 
worthiness, we do, in all humility, hope and beg 
that thou wilt give us thy pardon also. And we 
not only ask the pardon of our sins, but thy 
grace and powerful assistance, that we may not 
for the time to come hazard thy favor and pro- 



28 


tection by r our future wilful transgression. O 
Lord, leave us not to ourselves; for without 
thee we can do nothing that is good. To thee 
we look for grace to know our duty, for willing 
minds to desire to do it, for strength to perform 
what thou requirest of us, and that thou wilt 
mercifully pardon our infirmities, and accept of 
our poor unworthy services, for Jesus Christ’s 
sake. We put ourselves under thy protection, 
and beseech thee to give us grace, that with an 
humble confidence we may depend upon thy 
watchful providence, thy guidance and thy bless¬ 
ing. Grant that we may ever walk as in thy 
sight, making a conscience of all our ways, and 
to the best of our knowledge dealing with others 
as we ourselves would be dealt with. Give us 
grace that we may be innocent and harmless in 
our conversation, well pleased with the pros¬ 
perity of all around us, and desirous of the good 
of all people. And, O good God, may we never 
forget to praise thine infinite goodness for all 
the blessings we receive at thy hands. Pardon 
all our former ingratitude, and that we have 
passed so many days without observing,'with¬ 
out admiring and confessing thy wonderful 
goodness to the most unw r orthy of all thy ser¬ 
vants. Hear us, also, gracious God, while we 



29 


raise our hearts in prayer for our fellow crea¬ 
tures. Look down in mercy upon the misera¬ 
ble case of those who are living in sin and after 
the course of this world. Touch their hearts 
so powerfully from above, that they may see, ere 
it is too late, the danger of living without God 
in the world. In tender mercy remember all 
sick and dying persons, that they may omit no¬ 
thing that is necessary to make their peace with 
thee. Sanctify the miseries of this life to the 
everlasting benefit of those who suffer; and grant 
to us all, that, as we have but a short time to 
live, and an eternal interest depending, we may 
not squander away one moment in vanity, or in 
that which will not profit in the day of adversity. 
These and all thy blessings, which thou knowest 
better to give than we to ask, vouchsafe to give 
us for the w orthiness of thy son Jesus Christ, in 
whose most blessed name and words we offer 
up all our petitions at a throne of grace. Our 
Father, who art in heaven ; hallowed be thy 
name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on 
earth as it is in heaven; give us this day 
our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, 
as we forgive those who trespass against us; 
lead us not into temptation, but deliver from us 
evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, 

and the glory, for ever. Amen. 

3 * 


30 

PRAYER IX. 

from bishop wilson.— Evening. 

Almighty God and most merciful Father, we 
are here again prostrate before thee to acknow¬ 
ledge thy bounty and goodness to us the day 
past, to beg thy merciful protection this night, 
and to praise thy holy name for these and all thy 
other mercies, bestowed upon us from day to 
day. We confess, O Lord, that we do not 
walk worthy of the great benefits which we con¬ 
stantly receive at thy hands, nor make suitable 
returns for thy vast blessings; and therefore we 
might justly fear lest thou shouldst put a stop 
to the current of thy mercies to us. But pardon, 
we beseech thee, O God, whatever we have this 
day past offended, in thought, word, or deed, 
against thee or our neighbor, for Jesus Christ’s 
sake. Look upon us in much compassion, not 
for any thing in us, but for the love and respect 
which thou bearest to him in whom we pray 
thee to be reconciled to us miserable sinners. 
Take possession, O blessed Jesus, of thy right 
in our souls, which thou hast redeemed with thy 
precious blood, and root out all self-righteous¬ 
ness, self-interest, and self-will; and be thou 
our righteousness, and all in us. O Lord, make 
us to see the evil and danger of sin, that we 





31 


may repent and turn to thee with all our hearts, 
and bring forth fruits meet for repentance. 
Give us, O God, such a true sorrow for our sins 
as will enable us to embrace all the necessary 
means, how bitter soever, to subdue the evil of 
our souls. O God, make us truly sensible how 
different our lives ought to be from the lives of 
worldly people. Preserve us from a vain conver¬ 
sation, and give us grace never to be afraid or 
ashamed to speak of thee and thy law. G ive us a 
lively sense of the value of religion, and make it 
the delight of our hearts to speak of it with great 
judgment, seriousness, and affection, and at all 
reasonable times. Give us, O Lord, a mild, 
a peaceable, and an humble spirit, that, remem¬ 
bering our own infirmities, we may bear with 
those of others; that, considering our own cha¬ 
racter, we may think lowly of ourselves, and not 
be angry when others do so also. Give us, O 
Lord, a true compassion for the wants and mi¬ 
series of our fellow creatures, and do thou have 
compassion on us. Increase, O Lord, the 
number of penitents, and the joy of heaven, by 
delivering all sinners from the power of the 
Devil, and by vouchsafing them the grace of a 
true conversion. The greatest happiness, O 
Lord, which we can desire for ourselves, or our 


32 


fellow creatures, is what we now humbly beg 
for—that we may gratefully acknowledge thy 
great love to us, meditate on thy tender mercies, 
magnify thy good providence, and by these 
mighty favors be reduced to an obedience becom¬ 
ing our situation. Give us grace to consider, 
that by thy merciful goodness we are delivered 
from a world of dangers, which would other¬ 
wise overwhelm us. Lord, what is man that 
thou shouldst be so mindful of him, or the sons 
of men that thou shouldst so regard them? We 
are oppressed with the load of thy mercies. 
Glory be to thee, O God, our Creator. Glory 
be to thee, O God, our lledeemer. Glory be 
to thee, O God, the Holy Ghost, our sanctifier, 
our guide, our comforter. All love, all glory, 
be to the high and undivided Trinity, whose 
works are inseparable, and whose dominion en- 
dureth, world without end. Amen. Our Fa¬ 
ther, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name; 
thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth 
as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily 
bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we for¬ 
give those who trespass against us; lead us not 
into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for 
thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the 
glory, for ever. Amen. 



33 


PRAYER X. 
bishop wilson.— Morning. 

What shall we render unto the Lord for his mer¬ 
cies renewed unto us every morning? We will of¬ 
fer the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay our vows 
unto the most high? Accept, O Lord, our most 
hearty thanks for the preservation and refresh¬ 
ment of us during the past night, and for all the 
blessings of our past lives. Possess our souls, gra¬ 
cious God, with such a sense of thy goodness to 
us, and of our dependence upon thee for every 
blessing, that it may be our delight, as it is our du¬ 
ty and interest, to serve thee and obey thee. Give 
us leave, O God, to mention before thee the death 
of thy Son, and the infinite blessings we have re¬ 
ceived thereby. Make us deeply sensible of that 
love which brought him down from heaven, and 
how sad our condition must have been to require 
such a sacrifice. Intercede for us, O blessed Sa¬ 
viour, that we may be truly sensible of the diseases 
we labor under, and thankfully embrace the means 
thy goodness hast ordained for our recovery. Ob¬ 
tain for us, O blessed Jesus, the graces of mortifi¬ 
cation and self-denial, the graces of a true humility, 
and the fear of God. Preserve us, we pray thee, 
from spiritual pride, from ascribing any thing we 
have done or can do to ourselves, and robbing thee 
of the glory of saving us from eternal ruin. Give 


34 


ws grace, O God, that we may continue in thy fear 
all the day long; that we may live and act as hav¬ 
ing thee the constant witness of all our thoughts, 
words, and actions ; and that it may be the purpose 
of our souls never to offend thee wilfully. Show 
us the way that we should walk in, and give us 
grace to follow the conduct of thy good spirit, that we 
may do our duty in that state of life in which thy 
providence has placed us. Preserve us from an 
idle and useless life. Let us ever remember that 
the night of death cometh when no man can work, 
and that now is the time to provide for eternity. 
Grant, gracious God, that no worldly pleasures, no 
worldly business, may ever make us lose sight of 
death, and forget the serious duties of religion. 
Fill our hearts with a dread of the punishment pre¬ 
pared for impenitent sinners, and also with a sense 
of those blessings which will be the sure reward of 
those who love thee and obey thy laws. Give us 
a tender compassion for the wants and miseries of 
our fellow creatures. Have pity upon all those un¬ 
happy people who still sit in darkness, and want 
the necessary means of instruction. Send them 
pastors after thine own heart, full of knowledge, 
compassion and zeal, who, pitying their sad condi¬ 
tion, may instruct them in the ways of truth and 
eternal life. Bless all those societies which are 
formed for the extension of the Redeemer’s king- 



35 


dom upon earth. Increase the number and the 
graces of those who are zealous for thy glory and 
the conversion of sinners; may all our friends 
and relations be among the number of those in whom 
thou delightest. May our children be thy children, 
and our servants thine own faithful ones; so that 
when we shall all appear before thee to receive our 
final sentence, we may be received together into 
everlasting habitations. All which we ask in his 
name who has taught us, when we pray, to say: 
Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy 
name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on 
earth as it is done in heaven; give us this day our 
daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we 
forgive those who trespass against us; lead us not 
into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine 
is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever. 
Amen. 


PRAYER XI. 
bishop wilson.— Evening . 

O Lord, the creator of the world, we do here in 
all humility present ourselves before thee, to pay 
our evening homage, beseeching thee to accept our 
souls and bodies as living sacrifices to thee, who 
hast redeemed both. But most unfit are they to 
be to thee presented, until we have obtained thy 
grace, and pardon for the many sins by which they 



36 


have been defiled. Our whole nature is corrupt, 
exceeding prone to evil, and averse to good; our 
understanding is full of ignorance and errors, our 
will perverse, our passions easy to be excited, and 
our senses have been the inlets to all impurity. 
All the faculties of our souls and bodies have been 
abused. Lord, pity and cleanse, forgive and ac¬ 
cept us, for thy mercy’s sake, through Jesus Christ. 
O Lord, we beg that faith in Jesus Christ which 
can enable us to do all things; that we may be able 
to discover, to avoid, to resist, and root out what¬ 
ever is evil in us. O most powerful advocate, 
we put our cause into thy hands; let thy blood and 
merits plead for us, and by thy mighty intercession 
obtain for us a discharge from all our sins. It was 
not in ourselves, O Lord, to begin the work of 
conversion; finish, we pray thee, what thou hast be¬ 
gun in us. May we close with thy grace, and per¬ 
severe unto our life’s end. Lord, the frailty of man 
without thee cannot but fall; in all our temptations, 
therefore, we beseech thee to succor us, that sin may 
never have the dominion over us. Vouchsafe us, 
gracious God, the graces of mortification and self- 
denial, that our affections and flesh being subdued 
unto the spirit, and our hearts and members being 
mortified from all worldly lusts, we may always 
obey thy blessed will, through Jesus Christ. Give 
us, O Lord, hearts full of meekness and charity, 


37 


that we may willingly forget the evil we have re¬ 
ceived, and be always disposed to do good to others. 
We pray for those who never pray for themselves: 
that thou wouldst give unto them a true sense of 
their unhappy state, and grace and strength to 
break their bonds. May all who sincerely seek 
the truth be led into it by thy Holy Spirit; and to 
all such as are destitute of necessary instruction, 
vouchsafe a greater share of thy grace. Bless the 
pious endeavors of all those who strive to propa¬ 
gate the gospel of Christ, and may its divine truths 
be received throughout all the world. And now, O 
God, we ascribe it, with all grateful acknowledg¬ 
ments, to thy goodness, that we have this day been 
preserved from all evil and sad calamities, to which 
for our own sins we are justly liable, and that thou 
hast so bountifully supplied all our wants. Add 
this to the rest of thy favors, that we may never for¬ 
get, but always delight to praise thy holy name for 
all the blessings we every day receive at thy hands. 
O God, possess our souls with such a deep sense of 
the many obligations we owe to thee, and espe¬ 
cially of that great love which moved thee to give 
thy Son Jesus Christ to die for us, that religion 
may be the business of our life, our greatest plea¬ 
sure to serve thee, and our highest delight to at¬ 
tain everlasting happiness. Thou needest not, O 
God, our servicebut; we beseech thee to accept of 


38 


our humble desire through Jesus Christ. Into thy 
hands we commend, this night, both our souls and 
bodies, which have by thee been preserved in safe¬ 
ty all this day. And grant, O Lord and Judge of 
all mankind, that we may so pass all the days and 
nights of our lives in thy fear and to thy glory, 
that when the great day shall come, and no night 
follow, we may, by the merits of Christ, receive 
that crown of glory which thou hast promised to 
them that love thee. All which we humbly ask in 
the name of our blessed Saviour; in whose most per¬ 
fect words we pray to be heard for ourselves and 
all mankind.—Our Father, who art in heaven; hal¬ 
lowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be 
done on earth as it is done in heaven; give us this 
day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses 
as we forgive those who trespass against us; lead 
us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for 
thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for 
ever. Amen. 


PRAYER XII. 

bishop wilson.— Morning. 

O most holy, blessed, and glorious Majesty of 
heaven and earth. Before thee, the author of our 
being, we humbly prostrate ourselves this morning. 
May thy good spirit assist us in our duty; may it 
fix our attention, excite our affections, and inflame 



39 


our devotions, that we may attend upon the Lord 
with pleasure and without distraction. And be¬ 
cause, O Lord, we are not worthy to he heard for 
our own sake, we set before thee the merits of thy 
Son, who is the propitiation for our sins. For his 
righteousness, pardon the offences of us thy ser¬ 
vants, and grant us those things by thy mercy which 
by the strict rule of justice are not due to us. Be¬ 
hold, O Lord, prostrate before thee, creatures liable 
every moment to death, and begging for Jesus’s sake, 
that faith and repentance to which thou hast pro¬ 
mised mercy and pardon. Discover to us, O thou 
searcher of hearts, the charge that is against us, 
that we may know, and confess, and bewail, and 
abhor, and forsake all the evils we are guilty of 
Lord be merciful unto us, for we have sinned in the 
midst of light, and in contempt of the grace we 
have received. O Lord, never abandon us to the 
opposition we may make at any time to thy spirit. 
Leave us not to ourselves, and take not thy holy 
spirit from us. Our only support is that our sins 
have not put us beyond the reach of that mercy 
which is infinite. O divine repairer of our corrupt 
nature, may thy all powerful grace make us as per¬ 
fect as thou hast commanded us to be. Heal all the 
vicious inclinations of our souls, and perfect in us 
an hearty love of holiness, that by thy grace we 
may perform all the engagements that are upon us. 


40 


Give us such a true sorrow for our sins as will ena¬ 
ble us to embrace all the necessary means, how bit¬ 
ter soever, for rooting sin out of our souls. Give us 
grace, O God, that we may continue in thy fear all 
the daylong, and that we may live and act as hav¬ 
ing thee the constant witness of all our thoughts, 
words, and actions. May thy restraining grace 
preserve us from the temptations of an evil world, 
from the frailty and corruption of our own nature, 
and from the evil principles and practices of the 
age we live in. We bless thee, O God, for that 
grace which has so often prevented us,and to which 
we owe all the good thoughts that are in our hearts, 
all the motions of our souls to virtue and piety, and 
all the effects of them, in the whole course of our 
lives. We thank thee, heavenly Father, for all 
the blessings we have undeservedly received at thy 
hands, and particularly that thoii hast kept us, the 
night past, from all perils of body and soul. Con¬ 
tinue to us, O God, the blessings we already enjoy; 
make every condition of life, every blessing we re¬ 
ceive, every thing which befalleth us, a means of 
bringing us nearer to thee, and to that happiness 
which thou hast prepared for them that love thee. 
Let thy blessing rest upon us, and upon all for whom 
we should pray. In tender mercy, remember all 
sick and dying persons, that they may omit nothing 
that is necessary to make their peace with thee. 


41 


Give to all sinners a true sense of their sins, and 
true repentance for them, that they may be done 
away by thy mercy, and their pardon sealed in 
heaven, before they go hence to be no more seen. 
And grant unto us all that desire and earnest long¬ 
ing which we ought to have for the happy moment 
which is to release us from banishment, and trans¬ 
late us to a better world. O that our lot and for¬ 
tune may be among the saints of God. All our 
hope, and all our prayer, is in the name of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, in whose blessed words we 
would further pray: Our Father, who art in 
heaven; hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom 
come ; thy will be done on earth as it is in 1 leaven; 
give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our 
trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against 
us; lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and 
the glory, for ever. Amen. , f [ w 

PRAYER XIII. 
bishop wilson.— Evening . 

0 most gracious and merciful Father, we give 
thee thanks that it has pleased thee to add another 
day to the years of our lives, and that none of thy 
judgments, to which for our sins we are justly lia¬ 
ble, have fallen upon us. Blessed be thy goodness 

that our sins and ingratitude have not prevented 
4 * 



42 


thee from bringing us safely to the evening of this 
day. 0 God, infinite in mercy, pardon our sins of 
the day past, whether in thought, word, or deed, 
which we have committed through the fraud or 
malice of the Devil, or through our own weakness 
or frailty; and grant that they may never rise up in 
judgment against us. Prepare us, we beseech thee, 
for a continuance of thy favors, by giving us the 
grace of a true repentance, and a thorough amend¬ 
ment of life. But, O God, the frailty of man, with¬ 
out thee, cannot but fall; in all temptations, there¬ 
fore, we beseech thee to succor us, that no sin may 
ever get the dominion over us. Give us a salutary 
dread of the corruption of our hearts; make us 
truly sensible of the weakness and sinfulness of our 
whole nature, and show us the absolute need we 
have of thy gracious help, that we may pray for it 
continually. May we ever make a right use of the 
time which thy goodness shall yet vouchsafe us, 
and not dare to abuse thy patience and long-suffer¬ 
ing. May the thoughts of death mortify in us all 
pride and covetousness, and a love for this world; 
and may our firm belief in a judgment to come 
make us careful to please thee, our Lord and Judge, 
that we may find mercy at that day. Grant us grace 
so to follow thy saints in all virtuous and godlv 
living, that we may come to those unspeakable 
joys which thou hast prepared for them that un- 



43 


feignedly love thee. O our Saviour, how long have 
we professed to follow thee, without following the 
blessed steps of thy most holy life, thy patience and 
humility, thy great disregard lor the world, and all 
its idols. O Lord, obtain for us the spirit of mor¬ 
tification and self-denial, that we may follow thee, 
as we hope to live, with thee, to all eternity. O 
Almighty God, who alone canst do it, effectually 
convince us of the vanity of all that is desirable in 
this life, that we may not, like unbelievers, look for 
our happiness here. Grant that w r e may not be of 
the number of those who dread thy coming, who 
cannot, but with regret, submit to the necessity of 
dying, and who have neglected to prepare for 
death till the last hour. 0 gracious God, look on 
the miserable case of those who are living in sin. 
and after the course of this world. Give to them a 
true sense of their unhappy state, and grace and 
strength to break the bonds of sin asunder. 0 
Lord Jesus, conduct all blind wandering sinners in 
(lie way of life everlasting. O Father, all-mighty 
and most merciful, let thy loving kindness be upon 
all whom thou hast made. And grant that we, 
also, may be kindly affectioned one to another, ten¬ 
der-hearted, forgiving one another, even as thou, 
O Lord, for Christ’s sake, hast forgiven us. Grant 
that we may always lie down to sleep in the same 
charitable and forgiving temper in which we desire 


44 


and hope to die. And now, 0 God all-powerful, 
take us, this night, under thy protection, preserve 
us from the powers of darkness, and the dangers of 
the night, and, by thy grace and providence, bring 
us, at last, through all the trials and temptations of 
this world, to a blessed end, that we may die in 
peace, and rest in hope, and rise in glory, through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, to whom, with 
thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, 
world without end. Amen. Our Father, who 
art in heaven; hallowed be thy name; thy king¬ 
dom come; thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and 
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who 
trespass against us; lead us not into temptation, 
but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, 
the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 


PRAYER XIV. 

BISHOP WILSON. LOBD’S PRAYER PARAPHRAZED. Morning . 

Our Father , ivho art in heaven , we bless 
thee, that we, and all others, are permitted to call 
thee “Our Father;” and we pray that we may all 
live as becomes thy children; that we may not sin, 
knowing that we are accounted thine. 

Hallowed be thy name . Thou art worthy, 0 
Lord, to receive glory and honor, for thou hast ere- 



45 


ated all things, and all thy works praise thee. Fill 
our hearts, O Lord, with a zeal for thy glory, that 
we may do thee honor by leading holy lives, and 
by paying a great regard to- every thing that be¬ 
longs to thee. And may others, seeing our good 
works, glorify our Father in heaven. 

Thy kingdom come. Enlarge thy kingdom, 
O Lord, and deliver the world from the dominion 
and tyranny of Satan, that the kingdoms of the 
earth may become the kingdoms of Jesus Christ 
Bless the good endeavors of those who strive to 
propagate the gospel of Christ, and prepare the 
hearts of all men to receive it. 

Thy will he done on earth as it is done 
in heaven . Dispose us, and all thy children, to 
submit cheerfully to whatever thy good provi¬ 
dence shall order for us. Subdue in us whatever 
is contrary to thy holy will, that, through thy 
grace, we may become perfect as our heavenly pat^ 
tern is. 

Give us this day our daily bread . Thou, 
O Father, knowest what we stand in need of; 
give us those things which thou seest. proper for 
us. May we never use any unlawful means of 
getting our daily bread. Do thou dispose our 
hearts to impart to such as are in want of what 
thou mayest give us more than our daily bread. 


46 


But, especially, do thou give us all the bread 
which nourisheth to eternal life. 

And forgive us our trespasses , as we for¬ 
give those who trespass against us. Forgive 
us, O Father, those sins which separate us from 
thee. Forgive us every day of our lives, for eve¬ 
ry day do we stand in need of thy pardon. Thou 
art good and merciful in forgiving us; grant that 
we may be so to all others, remembering our infir¬ 
mities. 

And lead us not into temptation , but deliv¬ 
er us from evil . Leave us not, O Lord, to the 
power and malice of the evil one, the Devil, to deal 
with us as he pleaseth; nor to ourselves and our 
own corrupt hearts and lusts; lest we rashly run 
into temptation. Suffer us not to be surprised into 
them, nor tempted beyond what we are able to 
bear. Give us grace to resist them, and to watch 
and pray, daily, that we enter not into temptation. 

For thine is the kingdom , and the power , and the 
glory , for ever and ever. The whole creation is 
thine, and under thy government. Thine is the 
power to do whatever we pray for. Thou canst 
set up thy kingdom in all the world. Thou canst 
cause thy will to be done on earth as it is done in 
heaven. Thou canst give us all things that are 
needful for our souls and bodies. Thou, and thou 
alone, canst forgive our sins, and dispose our hearts 


47 


to forgive one another. Thou canst secure us in 
the day of temptation, and deliver us from the pow¬ 
er of the Devil. To thee, then, to thee alone, be 
the glory, through all eternity. The grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, etc. 


PRAYER XV. 

bishop wilson. lord’s prayer paraphrased. Evening . 

Our Father , who art in heaven. O, what 
manner of love is this, that we should be called 
the sons of God ? Look upon us, O Father, as 
poor, weak, ignorant, and helpless children. Pity 
us as a father pitieth his own children, and give us 
grace to show, by our lives, that thou art our 
father. 

Hallowed he thy name . May the end of all 
our designs and actions be thy glory, O God. But, 
ah, how little have we done to promote thy glory. 
God, be merciful to us, and glorify thine own 
name, by saving such miserable sinners as we are, 
and ever have been, since we were born. 

Thy kingdom come . Hasten the time which 
thy spirit hath foretold, when all nations whom 
thou hast made shall worship and glorify thee; and 
do thou, O King of saints, establish thy kingdom of 
grace in our hearts, that we maybe thy subjects out 
of choice, and ever yield thee a willing obedience. 



48 


Thy will be done on earth as it is done in hea¬ 
ven. As thy angels above do perfectly perform 
thy will, so may we below, as far as the frailty of 
our nature will allow. Grant that we may ever 
study to know thy will, that we may know how to 
please thee. 

Give its, this day , our daily bread. Daily do 
we have recourse unto thee; for on thee do we de¬ 
pend, for life, and breath, and all things. May 
we be content and thankful for our present condi¬ 
tion, to which, as sinners, we have no right. O, 
may we seek the kingdom of heaven, and its 
righteousness, and trust in thee, that all other 
things may be added unto us. 

And forgive us our trespasses , as we forgive 
those who trespass against us. May we remem¬ 
ber thy goodness, thy patience, thy mercy towards 
us, and the multitude of our offences against thee, 
that we may, from our hearts, forgive those who 
have offended us. But, O God, even the power 
to perform this condition must be from thy grace. 
Enable us, then, freely, from our hearts, to forgive 
others, as we hope to be forgiven of thee. 

Lead us not into temptation , but deliver us 
from evil. Thou, O Father, knowest our infir¬ 
mities, and the pow r er of our enemies; be not 
wanting to us in the hour of temptation. Let 
nothing provoke thee to leave us to ourselves. De- 


49 


liver ns from the wiles and artifices of Satan. De¬ 
liver us from the evil of sin in this world, and from 
the hitter pains of eternal death in that which is to 
come. 

For thine is the kingdom, and the power , and 
the glory, for ever and ever. To thee, there¬ 
fore, and to thee alone, do we apply for help. 
Into thy hands do we now commit ourselves. Do 
for us far more than we are able to ask or think, 
and all the praise shall he thine, for ever and 
ever. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, etc.- 

PRAYER XVf. 

bishop wilsox.— Sabbath Morning. 

O Lord, who hast consecrated this day to thy 
service, give 11s grace so to observe it, that it may 
be the beginning of an happy week to us, and that 
none of thy judgments may befall us for profan¬ 
ing it. Fix in our hearts this great truth, that 
here we have no abiding place, that we may seri¬ 
ously and timely provide for another life. Grant 
that this great concern may make us very desirous 
to learn our duty, and to d<> what thou requ rest of 
us. We bless thee, O God, that we have churches 
to go to, that we have such times set apart for the 
more public worship of our Creator, and that we 
have pastors to teach us. May we desire and re- 
5 



50 


joice at the return of this day, and serve thee 
faithfully on it, that so we may be prepared for an 
everlasting Sabbath with the saints in heaven. 
May we never spend thy holy day in vanity and 
idleness, or in a customary attendance on thy 
house only. O God, the fountain of wisdom, we 
humbly beseech thee to enlighten our minds, that 
we may come to the knowledge of thee and thy 
goodness in Christ Jesus. Give us a full persua¬ 
sion of all those great truths which thou hast re¬ 
vealed to us in thy holy word. Give us a love to 
thy scriptures, a true understanding of them, and 
grace to order our lives according to them. Let 
the gracious promises of thy word quicken our obe¬ 
dience, and its dreadful threatenings and judg¬ 
ments upon sinners fright us from sin, and oblige 
us to a speedy repentance. Grant that we may 
never content ourselves with the mere shadows of 
piety, hut always endeavor after that holiness with¬ 
out which no man can see the Lord. Increase the 
number and the graces of such as are zealous for 
thy glory, and the conversion of sinners. Impart 
to them the true way of instruction, and may thy 
blessing go along with their pious endeavors. 
Especially do we pray thee to bless him whom 
thou hast appointed to labor for our souls. Give 
him a true love for our souls. May he labor 
effectually among us $ and may nothing be wanting 


51 


on our part to crown his efforts with success. We 
pray thee, also, to preserve thine universal Church 
in the midst of the dangers that surround it; 
purge it from all its corruptions, and heal its divi¬ 
sions, that all Christian people may unite and love, 
as becomes the disciples of Christ. O thou, who 
art the Maker and Redeemer of all, have mercy on 
all whom thou hast made and redeemed ; and 
grant that none may make themselves incapable of 
that happiness which Jesus Christ hath purchased 
with his most precious blood. Have pity on all 
those unhappy people who still sit in darkness, and 
want the necessary means of instruction. Send 
them pastors after thine own heart, full of know¬ 
ledge, compassion, and zeal, who pitying their sad 
condition, may instruct them in the ways of truth, 
and of eternal life. We pray thee for all public 
authorities, whether in Church or State, that they 
may govern with truth, justice, and piety; and 
that those whose duty it is to obey, may do it for 
conscience sake, all acting as in the sight of God. 
Be with thy ministers every where this day. Open 
thou their lips, that their mouths may show forth 
thy praise. May thy word come with power to 
every heart, and all men feel, this day, that it is 
good to draw near to thee. Hear us in these our 
prayers, for the sake of our all-mighty advo¬ 
cate, who sitteth at thy right hand to intercede for 


52 


us, and to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, 
be glorv everlasting. Our Father, who art in 
heaven; hallowed he thy name ; thy kingdom 
come; thy will be done on earth as it is in 
heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and 
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who 
trespass against us; lead us not into temptation, 
but ^deliver us from evil ; for thine is the king¬ 
dom, the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 


TRAYER XVII. 


bishop wilson.— Sabbath Evening. 


Almighty and most merciful Father, on the even¬ 
ing of thy*blessed Sabbath we kneel before thee in 
humble supplication, to confess our unworthiness, 
to inplore thy forgiveness, and ask a gracious c on¬ 
tinuance of thy undeserved favors. O God, we 
lament before thee that our thoughts, and prayers, 
and words have not been so pure and heavenly as 
thou requirest, and as is our bounden duty on so 
holy a day. Nevertheless, O God, withhold not 
thy favors; pat don the sins of our holy things, and 
yet crown this day’s services with thy blessing. 
We would endeavor, even now, before we lay our 
bodies to rest, to lift up our hearts in acceptable 
prayer and praise. We would adore and bless 
thee for setting apart this holy day to keep up the 



53 


remembrance of thee and of our creation and re¬ 
demption. We thank thee for thy holy word, and 
that thou hast not in the great affair of eternity left 
us to the uncertainty of our own reason. We bless 
thee for having appointed ministers of religion to 
explain the truth of the gospel, to encourage and 
exhort us to holiness. We adore thee for the gift 
of thy spirit, and all its holy inspiration upon our 
souls. Above all, we laud and magnify thy glo¬ 
rious name for the gift of thy son Jesus Christ, and 
all his precious benefits to man. Make us truly 
sensible of that great love which brought him down 
from heaven, and how sad our condition must 
have been to require such a sacrifice. Grant, O 
Lord, that we may so perfectly, and without all 
doubt, believe in thy son Jesus Christ, that our 
faith in thy sight may never be reproved. May 
we, O blessed Saviour, love the truths of thy word, 
make the gospel our delight, and continue in the 
practice of them to our live’s end. Give us grace 
to read thy holy word with a reverence becoming 
the gracious manifestation of thy holy will to men, 
humbly submitting our understanding and will to 
thine. Open our eyes, O Lord, that we may see 
that thy law is holy, just, and good, and give us 
grace to keep it with our whole heart. Bless to us 
the means of grace which thou hast appointed, and 

especially the instructions of this day, that they 
5 * 


54 


may sink deep into our hearts, and bring forth in 
us the fruits of good living, to the praise and glory 
of thy holy name. Remember, gracious God, for 
good, all who are over us in the Lord, who watch 
for our souls as those who must give an account, 
that they do it with jov. and not with grief. We 
commend unto thy tender compassion, all that are 
in error, and sincere ly seek the truth; all such as are 
destitute of necessary means and instructions; all that 
are engaged in sinful courses, that they may have 
grace and strength to break their bonds; all that labor 
under trials and afflictions; all sick and dying per* 
sons, that they may omit nothing that is necessary 
to make their peace with thee before they depart 
hence; we pray, also, for such as never pray for 
themselves, that they may see, before it is too late, 
the danger of living without God in the world. 
Vouchsafe to us, also, an interest in the prayers of 
the faithful which have been offered up this day 
throughout the world. May the spiritual advan¬ 
tages of this holy day be the means of strengthen¬ 
ing us for the duties and fortifying us against the 
temptation of the week upon which we are now en¬ 
tering. Grant us grace, O God, whatever we do, 
everyday of our lives, to do it to thy glory; and 
thus may we so pass through things temporal as 
finally not to lose the things that arc eternal. 
Grant these and all other blessings for the alone 


55 


metits of Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee 
and the Holy Ghost, be all honor and glory, world 
without end. Amen. Our Father, who art in 
heaven; hallowed he thy name; thy kingdom come; 
thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven; 
give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us 
our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass 
against us ; lead us not into temptation, but deliver 
t:s from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the 
power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 


PRAYER XVIII. 

abridged from the lit an v.— Morning or Evening. 

O God, the Father of Heaven; have mercy upon 
tis miserable sinners. 

O God, the Son, Redeemer of the world; have 
mercy upon 11 s miserable sinners. O God, the 
Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the 
Son, have mercy upon us miserable sinners. 

O holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity, three per¬ 
sons and one God, have mercy upon us miserable 
sinners. 

Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offen¬ 
ces of our forefathers; neither take thou ven¬ 
geance of our sins; spare us. good Lord; spare thy 
people whom thou hast redeemed with thy most 
precious blood, and be not angry with us forever. 
From all evil and mischief, from sin, from the 



56 


crafts and assaults of the Devil, from thy wrath, 
and from everlasting damnation; from all blindness 
of heart, from pride, vain glory, and hypocrisy, 
from envy, hatred, and malice, and all uncharitable¬ 
ness; from all inordinate and sinful affections, and 
from all the deceits of the world, the flesh and the 
Devil; Good Lord, deliver us. 

By the mystery of thy holy incarnation; by thy 
holy nativity and circumcision; by thy baptism, 
fasting, and temptation; by thine agony and bloody 
sweat; by thy cross and passion; by thy precious 
death and burial; by thy glorious resurrection and 
ascension, and by the coming of the Holy Ghost; 
Good Lord, deliver us. 

We sinners do beseech thee to hear us, Lord God, 
and that it may please thee to give us an heart to 
love and fear thee, and diligently to walk after thy 
commandments ; that it may please thee to give to 
all thy people increase of grace, to hear meekly 
thy word, and to receive it with pure affection, and 
to bring forth the fruits of the spirit; that it may 
please thee to bring into the way of truth all such 
as have erred and are deceived ; that it may please 
thee to strengthen such as do stand, to comfort and 
help the weak-hearted, to raise up those who fall, 
and finally to beat down Satan under our feet; that 
it may please thee to succor, help, and comfort all 
who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation; that 


57 


it may please thee to have mercy upon all men; to 
forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers, 
and to turn their Irr.rts; that it may please thee 
to give us true repentance, to f rgive us till our 
sins, negligences and ignorances, and to endue U3 
with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, to amend our 
lives according to thy holy word. 

Almighty God, who hast given us grace at this 
time, with one accord, to make our common sup¬ 
plications unto thee; and dost promise that when 
two or three are gathered together in thy name, 
thou wilt grant their requests; fulfil now, O Lord, 
the desires and petitions of thy servants as may bo 
most expedient for them; granting us in this world 
knowledge of tiiy truth, and in the world to come 
life everlasting. May the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Clirist, etc. 


PRAYER XIX. 

6ELECTED FROM THE BOOK OF COMMON* PRAYER. 

Sabbath Morning. 

O eternal God, mighty in power, and of majesty 
incomprehensible, whom the heaven of heavens 
cannot contain, much less the walls of temples 
made with hands, and who yet hast been gra¬ 
ciously pleased to promise thine especial presence, 
wherever two or three of thy faithful servants 
shall assemble in thy name to offer up their praises 





58 


and supplications unto thee; vouchsafe to be 
present with us at this time, and to prepare us, 
with all humility and readiness of heart, to wait 
upon thee in thy house of prayer, on this thine 
own hallowed day. Blessed be thy name, O Lord 
God, for that it hath pleased thee to have thy 
habitation among the sons of men, and to dwell in 
the midst of the assembly of the saints upon earth. 
O most glorious God, we acknowledge that we are 
not worthy to offer unto thee any thing belonging 
unto us; yet we beseech thee, in thy great good¬ 
ness, graciously to accept our humble endeavors to 
worship thee this day. Give us grace to prepare 
our hearts to serve thee with reverence and godly 
fear; affect us with an awful apprehension of thy 
divine majesty, and a deep sense of our own 
unworthiness $ that so approaching thy sanctuary 
with lowliness and devotion, and coming before 
thee with clean thoughts, and pure hearts, with 
bodies undefiled, and minds sanctified, we may, 
through the merits of our great Redeemer, offer 
thee an acceptable service. 

Almighty and everlasting God, who art always 
more ready to hear than we to pray, and art 
wont to give more than either we desire or deserve, 
pour down upon us the abundance of thy mercy, 
forgiving us those things whereof our conscience is 
afraid, and giving us those good things which we 


59 


are not worthy to ask, but through the merits and 
mediation of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord. 

Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy scriptures 
to be written for our learning; grant that we may 
in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and in¬ 
wardly digest them, that, by patience and comfort 
of thy holy word, we may embrace and ever hold 
fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou 
hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. 

O Lord Jesus Christ, who at thy first coming 
did send thy messenger to prepare thy way before 
thee ; grant that the ministers and stewards of thy. 
mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready 
thy way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient 
to the wisdom of the just, that at thy second com¬ 
ing to judge the world, we may be found an accept¬ 
able people in thy sight. 

Most gracious God, the giver of all good and 
perfect gifts, who, of thy wise providence, hast 
appointed divers orders in thy Church; give thy 
grace, we beseech thee, to thy servant unto whom 
the charge of this congregation is committed; and 
so replenish him with the truth of thy doctrine, and 
endue him with innocency of life, that he may 
faithfully serve before thee, to the glory of thy 
great name, and the benefit of thy holy Church, 
through Jesus Christ our only Mediator and Re¬ 
deemer. 


60 


O God, Holy Ghost, sanctifier cf the faithful, 
visit, we pray thee, this congregation with thy love 
an 1 favor; enlighten our minds more and more 
with the light of the everlasting gospel; graft in 
our hearts the love of the truth ; increase in us true 
religion; nourish us with all goodness; and of thy 
great mercy keep us in the same, O blessed Spirit, 
whom, with the Father and the Son, together, we 
worship and glorify as one God, world without 
end. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, etc. 


PRAYER XX. 

from tiif, book of common praylr.— Sabbath Evening . 

Almighty God, who hast promised to hear the 
petitions of those who ask in thy son’s name, 
we beseech thee mercifully to incline thine ears 
unto us who have this day made cur prayers 
and supplications unto thee; and grant that 
those things which we have faithfully asked, 
according to thy will, may be effectually obtain¬ 
ed./Grant that the words w hich we have heard 
this day with our outward ears, may, through 
thy grace, he grafted inwardly in our hearts, 
that they may bring forth in us the fruit of 
good living, to the praise and glory of thy 
name, through Jesus Christ. O Lord, raise 
up, we pray thee, thy power, and come among 



G1 


us, and with great might succour us, that, 
whereas, through our sins and wickedness we 
are sore let and hindered in running the race 
that is set before us, thy bountiful grace and 
mercy may speedily help and deliver us. Al¬ 
mighty God, we beseech thee to behold this 
thy family, for which our Lord Jesus was con¬ 
tented to be betrayed and given up into the 
hands of wicked men. Keep thine household 
in continual godliness, that, through thy pro¬ 
tection, it may be free from all adversities, and 
devoutly given to serve thee in good works, to 
the glory of thy name, through Jesus Christ. 

O merciful God, who has made all men, and 
hatest nothing that thou hast made, have mercy 
upon all Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics; 
take from them all ignorance, hardness of 
heart, and contempt of thy word; and so bring 
them home, blessed Lord, to thy flock, that 
they may be saved among the remnant of the 
true Israelites, and be made one fold under one 
shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth 
and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, 
one God, world without end. Most merciful 
Father, we beseech thee to send upon all thy 
ministers thy heavenly blessing; that they may 

he clothed with righteousness, and that thy 
G 


word spoken by their months may have such 
success that it may never be spoken in vain. 
Especially do thou bless the ministry and ser¬ 
vice of him who labors for our souls. M ay the 
words of his mouth, and the meditat ions of his 
heart, be always acceptable in thy sight. Fill 
his memory with the words of thy law. Enligh¬ 
ten his mind with the illumination of* the Holy 
Ghost; and may all the wishes and desires of 
his heart centre in what thou commandest. 
Grant that he may faithfully administer thy 
holy sacraments, and, by his life and doctrine, 
set forth thy true and lively word. I>e ever 
with him in the performance of his duty; in 
prayer, to quicken his devotions; in praises, 
to heighten his love and gratitude; and in 
preaching, to give a readiness of thought and 
expression suitable to the clearness and excel¬ 
lency of thy holy word And () Almighty 
God, who hast built thy i Imrch on the founda¬ 
tion of tin* apostles and prophets, Jcois Christ 
himself being the chief corner-stone ; g\unt 
that by the operation of the Holy Ghost, ad 
Christians may be so joined tcge f l er in unity 
of spirit, and in the bond of peace, that they 
may be an holy temple acceptable to thee. 
And especially, to the congregation with w.iich 




63 

* 

wo are wont to assemble, give the abundance 
of tliy grace, that with urn heart they may 
desire the prosperity of thy holy apostolic 
Church, and with one month may profess the 
faith once delivered to the saints. Defend 
them from the sins of heresy and schism; let 
not the foot of pride come nigh to hurt them, 
nor the hand of the ungodly to cast them 
down. And grant that the course of this 
world may be so peaceably ordered by thy 
governance, that thy Church may joyfully serve 
thee here on earth i i all godly quietness; that 
so they may walk in the ways of truth and peace, 
and at last he numbered with thy saints in glory 
everlasting, through thy merits, O blessed Je¬ 
sus, thou gracious bishop and shepherd of our 
souls, who ait with the Father and the Holy 
Ghost one God, world without end. Amen. 


PRAYER XXI. 

FROM TIIE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 

J.'orning or Evening. 

Almighty God, tin fountain of all wisdom, who 
kmnvest our necessities before we ask. and our 
ign ranee in asking: we beseech thee to have com¬ 
passion upon our infirmities, and those things 



64 


which for our unworthiness we dare not, and for our 
blindness we cannot ask, vouchsafe to give us for 
the worthiness of thy son Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, 
all desires known, and from whom no secrets are 
hid ; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the 
inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, that we may per* 
fectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy 
name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Almighty God, who seest that we have no power 
of ourselves to help ourselves; keep us both out¬ 
wardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, 
that we may be defended from all adversities 
which may happen to the body, and from all evil 
thoughts which may hurt the soul, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. 

Almighty and everlasting God, who hatest nothing 
that thou hast made, and dost forgive the sins of all 
those who are penitent; create and make in us 
new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lament¬ 
ing our sins, and acknowledging our wretchedness, 
may obtain of thee, the God of all mercy, perfect 
remission and forgiveness, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. 

O God, who knowest us to be set in the midst of 
so many and great dangers, that, by reason of the 
frailty of our nature,we cannot always stand upright; 
grant to us such strength and protection as may 


65 


support us in all dangers and carry us through all 
temptations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Grant, O Lord, unto all those who are admitted 
unto Christ’s religion, that they may avoid those 
things that are contrary to their profession, and 
follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; 
may thy grace always prevent and follow them, and 
make them continually to be given to all good 
works. Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills 
of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bring¬ 
ing forth the fruit of good works, may by thee be 
plenteously rewarded, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. 

Almighty and everlasting God, give unto us 
the increase of faith, hope, and charity ; and, 
that we may obtain that which thou dost promise, 
make us to love that which thou dost command; and 
because the frailty of man, without thee cannot but 
fall, keep us ever by thy help from all things hurt¬ 
ful, and lead us to all things profitable to our sal¬ 
vation. 

O God, the protector of all who trust in thee, 
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, 
increase and multiply upon us thy mercy; that 
thou being our ruler and guide, we may so pass 
through things temporal, that we finally lose not 
the things eternal. 

O God, who hast prepared for those that love 
6 * 


6 r > 

thee, such good things as pass man’s understanding; 
pour into our hearts such love towards thee, that 
we, loving thee above all things, may obtain thy 
promises which exceed all that we can desire : grant 
to us, we, beseech thee, the spirit to think and do 
always such things as are right; that we who can¬ 
not do any thing that is good without thee, may by 
thee be enabled to live according to thy will, 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Almighty God, who hast promised to hear the 
petitions of those who ask in thy Son’s name; we 
beseech thee mercifully to incline tl ine ears to us 
who have now made our prayers and supplications 
unto thee: and grant that those things which we 
have faithfully asked according to thy will, may 
effectually be obtained ; to the relief of our necessi¬ 
ty, and to the setting forth of thv glory, through 
Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the 
Holy Ghost, be glory everlasting. Amen. 

PRAYER XXII. 

FROM THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 

Morning or Evening. 

Almighty and everlasting God, who art always 
more ready to hear than we to pray, and art wont 
to give more than either we desire or deserve; 
po iv down upon us the abundance of thy mercy, 
lb /giving us those tilings whereof our conscience 



67 


is a r ! aid, and giving us those good things which 
we ore not worthy to ask but through the merits 
and mediation cf Jesus Christ, thy Son, our 
Lord. 

O God, who declarest thy almighty power 
chiefly in showing mercy and pity, mercifully 
grant unto us such a measure of thy grace, that 
we, running the way of thy commandments, may 
obtain thy gracious promises, and be made parta¬ 
kers of thy heavenly treasure, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. 

O almighty God, who alone canst order the 
unruly wills and affections of sinful men; grant 
unto thy people, that they may love the thing 
which thou eommandest, and desire that which thou 
dost piomise; that so, among the sundry and mani¬ 
fold changes of the world, our hearts may surely 
there he fixed where true joys are to be found, 
thro gh Jesus Christ our Lord. 

Ahniglry God, who, through thine only begot¬ 
ten Son, Jesus Cluist, hast overcome death, and 
opened unto us the gate of everlasting life, we 
humbly beseech thee that, as by thy special grace 
preventing us, thou dost put into our minds good 
desires, so, bv thy continual help, we may bring the 
same to good effect, through Jesus Christ. 

O Lord, who hast taught us that all our doings 
without charity are nothing worth; send thy HoJy 




68 


Ghost, and pour into our hearts that most excel¬ 
lent gift of charity, the very bond of peace and 
all virtues; without which, whoever liveth is count¬ 
ed dead before thee. Grant this for thine only 
Son Jesus Christ’s sake. 

O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully to receive 
the prayers of thy people that call upon thee; and 
grant that they may both perceive and know what 
things they ought to do, and also, may have grace 
and power faithfully to fulfil the same, through 
Jesus Christ, 

Grant, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that 
like r.s we do believe thy only begotten Son Jesus 
Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so we 
may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and 
with him continually dwell, who liveth and reign- 
eth with thee and the Holy Ghost, world without 
end. 

O everlasting God, who hast ordained and con¬ 
stituted the services of men and angels in a won¬ 
derful order; mercifully grant that as thy holy angels 
always do thee service in heaven ; so, by thy ap¬ 
pointment, they may succour and defend us on earth, 
through Jesus Christ. 

O Almighty God, who hart knit together thine 
elect in one communion and fellowship, in the 
mystical body of thy Son Christ our Lord ; grant 
us grace so to follow thy blessed saints in all virtu- 


69 


oils and godly living, that we may come to those 
unspeakable joys which thou hast prepared for 
those who unfeignedly love thee, through Jesus 
Christ our Loid, in whose name we pray, and in 
whose words we beg to he further heard. Our 
Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy name; 
thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it 
is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and 
forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those w'ho 
trespass against us; lead us not into temptation, but 
deliver us from evil: for thine is the kingdom, and 
the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 


PRAYER XXIIf. 

FROM THE BOOTv OF COMMON PRAVER.— Morning. 

Almighty and everlasting God, in whom we live 
and move and have our being: we, thy needy 
creatures, render thee our humble praises, for thy 
preservation of us from the beginning of our lives 
to this day, and especially for having delivered us 
from the dangers of the past night. To thy watch¬ 
ful providence we owe it, (that no dist rbance 
hath come nigh us or our dwelling; but, that we 
are brought in safety to the beginning of this day.) 
For these thy mercies, we bless and magnify thy 
glorious name; humbly beseeching thee to accept 
this our morning sacrifice of praise and thanksgiv- 



70 


ing; for his sake who lay down in the grave, and 
rose again for us, thy Son our Saviour Jesus 
Christ. Amen. 

And, since it is of thy mercy, O gracious Father, 
that another day is added to our lives; we here 
dedicate botn our souls and our bodies to thee and 
thy service, in a sober, righteous, and godly life; 
in which resolution, do thou, O merciful God, con¬ 
firm and strengthen us; that, as we grow in fig 1 , 
we may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of 
our Lord and Sav iour Jesus Christ. Amen. 

But, O God, who knowest the weakness and 
corrupiion of our nature, and the manifold tempta¬ 
tions which we daily meet with; we humbly be¬ 
seech thee to have compassion on our infirmities, 
and to give us the co stant assistance of thy Holy 
Spirit; that we may he effectually restrained from 
sin, and excited to pur duty. Imprint upon our 
hearts such a dread of thy judgments, and such a 
grateful sei se of thy goodness to us, as may make 
us both afraid and ashamed to offend thee. And, 
above all, keep in our minds a lively remembrance 
of that great day, in which we must give a strict 
account of our thoughts, words, and actions ; and 
ac.co ding to the works d« ne in the body, be eter¬ 
nally lewarded or punished, by him w hom thou 
hast appointed the Judge of quick and dead, thy 
Sou Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 


7i 

In particular, we implore thy grace and protec¬ 
tion for the ensuing day. Keep us temperate in our 
meals and drinks, and diligent in our several call¬ 
ings. Grant us patience under any afflictions thou 
shall see fit to lay on us, and minds always content¬ 
ed with our present condition. Give iis grace to 
be just and upright in all our dealings; quiet and 
peaceable; full of compassion; and ready to do 
good to all men, according to our abilities and op¬ 
portunities. Direct us in all our ways, (and pros¬ 
per the works of our hands in the business of our 
several stations.) Defend us from all dangers and 
adversities; and be graciously pleased to take us, 
and all things belonging to us, under thy fatherly 
care and protection. These things, and whatever 
else thou shalt see necessary and convenient to us, 
we humbly beg, through the merits and mediation 
of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. 
Amen. 

Our Father, who art in heaven; hallowed be thy 
name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on 
earth as it is in heaven ; give us this day our daily 
bread ; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive 
those who trespass against us; lead us not into 
temptation, but deliver us from evil ; for thine is 
the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever. 
Amen. 


The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love 
of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be 
with us all evermore. Amen. 

PRAYER XXIV. 

from tiiE book of common prayer.— Evening . 

Most merciful God, w ho art of purer eyes than 
to behold iniquity, and hast promised forgiveness 
to all those who confess and forsake their sins; w ? c 
come before thee in an humble sense of our own 
unworthincss, acknowledging our manifold trans¬ 
gressions of thy righteous laws. But, 0 gracious 
Father, who desirest not the death of a sinner, 
look upon us, w e beseech thee, in mercy, and for¬ 
give us all our transgressions. Make us deeply 
sensible of the great evil of tl cm : and work in us 
an hearty contrition ; that we may obtain forgive¬ 
ness at thy hands, who art ever ready to receive 
humble and penitent sinners ; for the sake of thy 
Son Jesus Christ, our only Saviour and Redeemer. 
Amen. 

And lest, through our own frailty, or the tempta¬ 
tions which encompass us, we be drawn again into 
sin, vouchsafe us, we beseech thee, the direction 
and assistance of thy Holy Spirit. Reform what¬ 
ever is amiss in the temper and disposition of our 
souls; that no unclean thoughts, unlawful designs, 



73 


or inordinate desires, may rest there. Purge our 
hearts from envy, hatred, and malice, that we may 
never suffer the sun to go down upon our wrath; 
but may always go to our rest in peace, charity, and 
good-will, with a conscience void of offence towards 
thee and towards men: that so we may be pre¬ 
served pure and blameless, unto the coming of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 

And accept, O Lord, our intercessions for all 
mankind. Let the light of thy Gospel shine upon 
all nations; and may as many as have received it, 
live as becomes it. Be gracious unto thy Church; 
and grant that every member of the same, in his 
vocation and ministry, may serve thee faithfully. 
Bless all in authority over us; and so rule their 
hearts and strengthen their hands, that they may 
punish wickedness and vice, and maintain thy true 
religion and virtue. Send down thy blessings, 
temporal and spiritual, upon all our relations, 
friends, and neighbors. Reward all who have 
done us good, and pardon all those who have done 
or wish us evil, and give them repentance and bet¬ 
ter minds. Be merciful to all who are in any trou¬ 
ble ; and do thou, the God of pity, administer to 
them according to their several necessities, for his 
sake who went about doing good, thy Son our 
Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen, 

7 


74 


To our prayers, 0 Lord, we join our unfeigned 
thanks for all thy mercies; for our being; our rea¬ 
son, and all other endowments and faculties of soul 
and body ; for our health, friends, food, and rai¬ 
ment, and all the other comforts and conveniences 
of life. Above all, we adore thy mercy in sending 
thy only Son into the world to redeem us from sin 
and eternal death, and in giving us the knowledge 
and sense of our duty towards thee. We bless 
thee for thy patience with us, notwithstanding our 
many and great provocations; for all the direc¬ 
tions, assistances, and comforts of thy Holy Spirit; 
for thy continual care and watchful providence 
over us through the whole course of our lives ; and 
particularly for the mercies and benefits of the past 
day : Beseeching thee to continue these thv bless¬ 
ings to us; and to give us grace to show our 
thankfulness in a sincere obedience to his laws, 
through whose merits and intercession we receiv¬ 
ed them all, thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ. 
Amen. 

In particular, we beseech thee to continue thy 
gracious protection to us this night. Defend us 
fioni all dangers and mischiefs, and from the fear 
of them; that we may enjoy such refreshing sleep, 
as may fit us for the duties of the following day. 
Make us ever mindful of the time when we shall 


75 


lie clown in the dust; and grant us grace always to 
live in such a state, that we may never be] afraid 
to die: So that living and dying we may be thine, 
through the merits and satisfaction of thy Son 
Christ Jesus, in whose name we offer up these our 
imperfect prayers. Amen. Our Father, who 
art in heaven; hallowed be thy name; thy 
kingdom come; thy will be done on earth as it 
is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; 
and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive 
those who trespass against us; lead us not into 
temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine 
is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, 
for ever. Amen. 

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the 
love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghost, 
be with us all evermore. Amen. 


PRAYER XXV. 

FROM THE COMMUNION SERVICE. 

Morning or Evening. 

Almighty God, unto whom all hearts are open, 
all desires known, and from whom no secrets are 
hid; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the in¬ 
spiration of thy Holy Spirit; that we may perfectly 
love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy name, 
through Jesus Christ. 



76 


Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, maker of all things, judge of all men; we 
acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and 
wickedness, which we from time to time most 
grievously have committed, by thought, word, or 
deed, against thy divine majesty; provoking most 
justly thy wrath and indignation against us. We 
do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for 
these our misdoings; the remembrance of them is 
grievous unto us ; the burthen of them is intolera¬ 
ble. Have mercy upon us, have mercy upon us, 
most-merciful Father, for thy Son our Lord Jesus 
Christ’s sake; forgive us all that is past; and 
grant that we may ever hereafter serve and please 
thee in newness of life, to the honor and glory of 
thy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

O Lord, the only begotten Son Jesus Christ: O 
Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that 
takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon 
us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, 
receive our prayer. Thou that sittest on the 
right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. 

All glory be to thee, Almighty God, our heaven¬ 
ly Father, for that thou of thy tender mercy, didst 
give thine only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death 
upon the cross for our redemption; who made 
there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, 
a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, 


77 


and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; 
and not only for the precious death and merits of 
thy Son Jesus Christ, but for the sending to us of 
the Holy Ghost the comforter, who art one with 
thee in thy eternal godhead; therefore, with an¬ 
gels and arch-angels, and with all the company of 
heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name, 
evermore praising thee, and saying, holy, holy, 
holy Lord God of Hosts; heaven and earth are 
full of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord 
most high. 

And here we offer and present unto thee, O 
Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a rea¬ 
sonable, holy, and living sacrifice unto thee; 
humbly beseeching thee to accept this our bounden 
duty and service, not weighing our merits, but 
pardoning our offences; through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. 

And O almighty and everlasting God, who 
has taught us to make prayers and supplications for 
all men, we humbly beseech thee to inspire contin¬ 
ually the universal Church with the spirit of truth, 
unity, and concord; and grant that all those who 
do confess thy holy name may agree in the truth of 
thy holy word, and live in unity and godly love. 
We beseech thee, also, so to dispose the hearts of 
all Christian rulers, that they may truly and im¬ 
partially administer justice, to the punishment of 



78 


wickedness and vice, and the maintenance of thy 
true religion and virtue. Give grace, O heavenly 
Father, to all bishops and other ministers; that 
they may. both by their life and doctrine, set forth 
thy true and ively word, and rightly and duly ad¬ 
minister thv holy sacraments. And to all thy peo¬ 
ple give thy heavenly grace, that with meek heart 
and due reverence, they may hear and receive thy 
holy word ; truly serving thee in holiness and right¬ 
eousness all the davs of their life. And we hum- 

I r 

bly beseech thee, O Lord, of thy goodness, to com¬ 
fort and succor all those who, in this transitory life, 
are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other 
adversity. And we also bless tby holy name for 
all thy servants departed this life in thy faith and 
fear; beseeching thee to give us grace so to follow 
their good examples, that with them we may be par¬ 
takers of thy heavenly kingdom. Grant this, O 
heavenly Father, for Jesus Christ’s sake, our only 
Mediator and Advocate. And may the peace of 
God, which passeth all understanding, keep our 
hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of 
God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord ; and 
the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son, and 
Holy Spirit, be amongst us, and remain with us 
evermore. Amen. 


79 


PRAYER XXVI. 

FROM TIIK BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 

Mornin or Evening. 

' o 

O God, whose mercy is everlasting, and whose 
power is infinite, look down with pity and compas¬ 
sion on thy poor creatures, who come to thee beg¬ 
ging for mercy in the name of thy Son Jesus 
Christ. 

O Lord, in the mkLt of life we are in death, of 
whom shall we seek for succour but from thee, 
who for our sins ait jutlly displeased. Thou 
knowest, Lord, the secrets of our hearts; shut not 
thy merciful ears to our prayers; but spare us, 
Lord most holy, O God most mighty, 0 holy and 
merciful Saviour, thou most worthy Judge eter¬ 
nal, deliver us not into the bitter pains of eternal 
death. Thy property is always to have mercy; 
to thee only it appertaineth to forgive sins; spare 
us, therefore, good Lord ; spare thy people whom 
thou hast redeemed, and enter not into judgment 
with us. Stir up in us such sorrow for sin and 
such fervent love to thee, that among the praises 
which thv saints and angels shall sing to the honor 
of thy mercy through eternal ages, it may be to 
thy unspeakable glory, that thou hast redeemed us 
who are vile earth and miserable sinners. 

O God, make us to know and feel that there is 
none other n.nne under heaven given to man in 



80 


whom and through whom we may receive health 
and salvation, but only the name of our Lord Jesus 
Christ. 

Grant us so perfectly, and without all doubt, to 
believe in thy Son Jesus Christ, that our faith in 
thy sight may never be reproved. And O God who 
didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by 
sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit, grant 
us by the same spirit to have a right judgment in 
all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy 
comfort. Let thy fatherly hand we beseech, thee, 
ever be over us. Let thy Holy Spirit ever be with 
us, and so lead us in the knowledge and obedience 
of thy word, that in the end, we may obtain ever¬ 
lasting life through Jesus Christ. Grant 0 Lord, 
that we may both perceive and know what things 
we ought to do, and have grace and power faithful¬ 
ly to fulfil the same. Grant that our hearts and 
all our members may be mortified from all world¬ 
ly and carnal lusts, so that we may obey thy bless¬ 
ed will. Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, 
and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defend¬ 
ed from all adversities that happen to the body, 
and from all evil thoughts which may assault and 
haunt the soul. Give us grace to withstand the 
temptation of the world, the flesh, and the Devil, 
and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the 


81 


only God. And 0 God since all our doings without 
charity are nothing worth; send thy Holy Ghost, 
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of 
charity, the very bond of peace and all virtues; 
without which, whosoever liveth is counted dead 
before thee. Receive our supplications and pray¬ 
ers for all estates of men in thy Church, that every 
member of the same in his vocation and ministry, 
may truly and goodly serve thee. Keep thy house¬ 
hold, the Church in continual godliness; that 
through thy protection, it may be free from all ad¬ 
versities, and devoutly given toserve thee in good 
works, to the glory of thy name. Save thy minis¬ 
ters from all error, ignorance, pride, and prejudice, 
and so direct, sanctify, and govern them by the 
mighty power of the Holy Ghost, that the comforta¬ 
ble gospel of Christ may be truly preached, truly re¬ 
ceived, and truly followed in all places to the breaking 
down the kingdom of sin, Satan and death, until the 
whole of thy dispersed sheep, being gathered into 
one fold, shall become partakers of everlasting life, 
through the merits and death of Jesus Christ our 
Saviour. 

Almighty God, who hast promised to hear the 
petitions of those who ask in thy Son’s name; we 
beseech thee mercifully to incline thine ears to us, 
who have now made our prayers and supplications 
unto thee; and grant that those things which we 


82 


have faithfully asked according to thy will, may 
effectually be obtained to the relief of our necessity 
and the setting forth of thy glory, through Jesus 
Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy 
Ghost, be glory everlasting. 


PRAYER XXVII. 

A THANKSGIVING, FROM THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 

Mornivg. 

What shall we render unto the Lord for his mer¬ 
cies renewed unto us every morning? We will offer 
the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay our vows unto 
the Most High. It is a good thing to give thanks 
unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto thy name, 
O M ost Highest; to tell of thy loving kindness 
early in the morning, and of thy truth in the night 
season. For thou hast made us glad through thy 
works, and we will rejoice in giving praise for the 
operation of thy hands. We would serve the 
Lord with gladness, and come before his presence 
with a song. We would go into his gates with 
thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise ; be 
thankful unto him, and speak good of his name. 
We would sing unto the Lord a new song; for he 
hath done marvellous things. Let the people praise 
thee, O God ! yea, let all the people praise thee. 
Show yourselves joyful unto the Lord, all ye 
lands; sing, rejoice, and give thanks. Let the 



83 


floods clap their hands, and let the hills be joyful to¬ 
gether before the Lord. O, praise the Lord, ye 
Angels of his. ye that excel in strength. O, praise 
the Lord, all ye his hosts, ye servants of his that 
do his pleasure. O, speak good of the Lord, all 
ye works of his, in all places of his dominion. 
Praise thou the Lord, O, our souls. 

We do praise thee, O Lord ; we do acknow¬ 
ledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth 
worship thee, the Father everlasting. To thee all 
Angels cry aloud ; the heavens and all the powers 
therein. To thee Cherubim and Seraphim con¬ 
tinually do cry; holy, holy, holy, Lord God of 
Sabaoth. Heaven and earth are full of the ma¬ 
jesty of thy glory. The glorious company of the 
Apostles praise thee. The goodly fellowship of 
the Prophets praise thee. The noble army of 
martyrs praise thee. The holy Church throughout 
the world doth acknowledge thee. The father of 
an infinite majesty. Thine adorable, true, and only 
Son. Also, the Holy Ghost, the Comforter. Thou • 
art the King of Glory, O Christ. Thou art the 
everlasting Son of the Father. When thou took- 
est upon thee to deliver man, thou didst humble 
thyself to be born of a Virgin. When thou didst 
overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open 
the kingdom of heaven to all believers. Thou sit- 


84 


test at the right hand of God, in the glory of the 
Father. We believe that thou shalt come to be 
our Judge. We therefore pray thee, help thy ser¬ 
vants whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious 
blood. Make them to be numbered with thy saints 
in glory everlasting. O Lord, save thy people, 
and bless thine heritage. Govern them, and lift 
them up for ever. Day by day we magnify thee, 
and we worship thy name ever, world without end. 
Vouchsafe, O Lord, to keep us this day without 
sin. O Lord, have mercy upon us, have mercy 
upon us. Let thy mercy be upon us, as our trust 
is in thee. O Lord, in thee have we trusted, let 
us never be confounded. O that men would, there¬ 
fore, praise the Lord for his goodness, and declare 
the wonders that he doeth for the children of men. 
It is indeed, very meet, right, and our bounden 
duty, that we should, at all times and in all places, 
give thanks unto thee, O Lord, holy Father, al¬ 
mighty everlasting God. Therefore, with Angels 
and Archangels, and* with all the company of hea¬ 
ven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name; ever¬ 
more praising thee, and saying, holy, holy, holy, 
Lord God of Hosts: Heaven and earth are full of 
thy glory: glory be to thee, O Lord, Most High. 
Amen. 


85 


PRAYER XXVIII. 

FROM THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 

Morning or Evening . 

O God, who declares! thy almighty power 
chiefly in showing mercy, hear us, for thy mercy 
is great, and after the multitude of thy mercies, 
look upon us through the merits and mediation 
of thy blessed Son Jesus Christ. O God, thou 
hatest nothing that thou hast made, and dost 
forgive the sins of all that are truly penitent: 
create and make in us new and contrite hearts, 
that we, worthily lamenting our sins, and ac¬ 
knowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of 
thee, the God of all mercy, perfect remission 
and forgiveness, through Jesus Christ. O 
God, for as much as without thee we are not 
able to please thee, mercifully grant that thy 
Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule 
our hearts, through Jesus Christ. Leave us not 
comfortless, O God, but send thy Holy Spirit to 
comfort us, and to exalt us unto the same place 
whither our Saviour Christ is gone before. 

O God, pour into our hearts such love to¬ 
wards thee, that we, loving thee above all 
things, may obtain those promises which exceed 
all that we can desire. Give us the increase of 
faith, hope and charity; and, that we may obtain 
8 


86 


that which thou dost promise, make us to love 
that which thou dost command. Grant that 
all sinful affections may die in us, and all things 
belonging to the spirit may live and grow in us. 
Grant that we may have power and strength to 
have victory, and to triumph against the Devil, 
the world, and the flesh. May thy grace al¬ 
ways prevent and follow us, and make us con¬ 
tinually to be given to all good works. O God r 
give us grace to forsake all covetous desires, 
and inordinate love of riches; and so may we 
follow thy saints in all virtuous and godly liv¬ 
ing, that we may come to those unspeakable 
joys which thou hast prepared for them that 
unfeignedly love thee. Renew in us, O God, 
whatever has been decayed by the fraud or 
malice of the Devil, or by our own carnal will 
or frailty ; and grant unto all those who are 
admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion, 
that we may avoid those things that are con¬ 
trary to our profession, and follow all such 
things as are agreeable to the same. Grant us, 
we beseech thee, the spirit to think and do al¬ 
ways such things as are right; graft in our 
hearts the love of thy name; increase in us 
true religion; nourish us with all goodness, and 
of thy great mercy, keep us in the same; put 


87 


away from us all hurtful things, and give us 
those things that are profitable for us. May 
we daily increase in thy Holy Spirit more and 
more, until we come to thy everlasting king¬ 
dom. O Lord, we beseech thee mercifully hear 
tiie prayers of all those who confess their sins 
unto thee. Turn thou them, O Lord, and so 
shall they be turned. Be favorable, O Lord, be 
favorable to thy people who turn to thee in 
weeping, and fasting, and praying; for thou art 
a merciful God, full of compassion, long suffer¬ 
ing, and of great pity. Spare thy people, good 
Lord, spare them, and let not thine heritage 
be brought to confusion. Have mercy upon all 
Jews, Turks, infidels, and heretics; take from 
them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and con¬ 
tempt of thy word; and so gather them home, 
blessed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be 
saved among the true Israelites, and be made 
one fold, under one shepherd, Jesus Christ We 
pray, O God, for the people of these United 
States, and those who are appointed to rule 
over them. Most heartily we beseech thee 
with thy favor to behold and bless thy servant, 
the President of these United States, and all 
others in authority. Direct and prosper ail 
their consultations to the advancement of 


88 


thy glory, the good of thy Church, the safety, 
honor and welfare of thy people. O Lord, let 
thy continual pity cleanse and defend thy 
Church 5 and, because it cannot continue in 
safety without thy succour, preserve it evermore 
by thy help and goodness. Be with thy minis¬ 
ters, O God, to the end of the world; replenish 
them with the truth of thy doctrine; endue 
them with innocency of life, that they may faith¬ 
fully serve before thee, to the glory of thy great 
name and the benefit of thy Holy Church. 

O God, whose days are without end, and 
whose mercies cannot be numbered; make us, 
we beseech thee, deeply sensible of the short¬ 
ness and uncertainty of human life; and let thy 
Holy Sprit lead us through this vale of misery 
in holiness and righteousness all the days of 
our lives; that when we shall have served thee 
in our generation, we may be gathered unto 
our fathers, having the testimony of a good 
conscience; in the communion of the Catholic 
Church; in the confidence of a certain faith, in 
the comfort of a reasonable, religious and holy 
hope; in favor with thee our God, and in perfect 
charity with all the world. All which we ask 
through Jesus Christ our Lord. May the 
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, etc. 


89 


PRAYER XXIX. 

FROM THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYRR.— Moming. 

Almighty and most merciful Father, we hav r e 
erred and strayed from thy ways like lost 
sheep. We have followed too much the devi¬ 
ces and desires of our own hearts. We have 
offended against thy holy laws. We have left 
undone those things which we ought to have 
done; and we have done those things which 
we ought not to have done ; and there is no 
health us. But thou, O Lord, have mercy upon 
us, miserable offenders. Spare thou those, O 
God, who confess their faults. Restore thou 
those who are penitent; According to thy pro¬ 
mises, declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus 
our Lord. And grant, O most merciful Father, 
for his sake, that we may hereafter live a god¬ 
ly, righteous, and sober life; to the glory of thy 
holy name. 

Almighty God, Father of all mercies, we, 
thine unworthy servants, do give thee most 
humble and hearty thanks for all thy goodness 
and loving kindness to us and to all men. We 
bless thee for our creation, preservation and all 
the blessings of this life; but above all for thine 

inestimable love in the redemption of the world 

8 * 




90 


by our Lord Jesus Christ; for the means of 
grace, and for the hope of glory. And we be¬ 
seech thee, give us that due sense of all thy 
mercies, that our hearts may be unfeignedly 
thankful, and that we may show forth thy 
praise, not only with our lips, but in our lives; 
by giving up ourselves to thy service, and by 
walking before thee in holiness and righteous¬ 
ness all our days, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord; to whom, with thee and the Holy Ghost, 
be all honor and glory, world without end. 

O God, the creator and preserver of all man¬ 
kind, we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and 
conditions of men, that thou wouldst be pleased 
to make thy ways known unto them, thy saving 
health unto all nations. More especially we pray 
for thy holy Church universal, that it may be 
so guided and governed by thy good spirit, that 
all who profess and call themselves Christians 
may be led into the way of truth, and hold the 
faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, 
and in righteousness of life. Finally, we com¬ 
mend to thy fatherly goodness all those who 
are any ways afflicted, or distressedin mind, bo¬ 
dy, or estate; that it may please thee to comfort 
and relieve them according to their several ne¬ 
cessities, giving them patience under their suf- 


91 


ferings and an happy issue out of all their afflic¬ 
tions ; and thiswe beg for Jesus Christ’s sake. 

O Lord, our Heavenly Father, who hast 
safely brought us to the beginning of this day ; 
defend us in the same with thy mighty power, 
and grant that this day we fall into no sin, neither 
run into any kind of danger ; but that all our 
doings, being ordered by thy governance, may 
be righteous in thy sight, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. 

Almighty God, who hast given us grace at 
this time to make our common supplications 
unto thee; and dost promise, when two or 
three are met together in thy name, to grant 
their requests; fulfil now, O Lord, the desires 
and petitions of thy servants, as may be expe¬ 
dient for them, granting us in this world know¬ 
ledge of thy truth, and in the world to come 
life everlasting. Amen. 

PRAYER XXX. 

Morning. 

The following is a combination of three prayers of the celebrated 
Sir William Jones. 

Eternal and incomprehensible mind, who, by 
thy boundless power, before time began, createdst 
innumerable worlds for thy glory, and innumerable 
orders of beings for their happiness, which thy in- 



92 


finite goodness prompted thee to desire, and thy 
infinite wisdom enabled thee to know; we, thy 
creatures, vanish into nothing before thy supreme 
majesty; we hourly feel our weakness; we daily 
bewail our vices; we continually acknowledge our 
folly; thee only we adore with awful veneration; 
thee we thank with the most fervent zeal; thee we 
praise with astonishment and rapture ; to thy pow¬ 
er we humbly submit; of thy goodness we devout¬ 
ly implore protection; on thy wisdom we firmly 
and cheerfully rely. We do but open our eyes, 
and instantly we perceive thy divine existence ; 
we do but exert our reason, and in a moment we 
discover thy divine attributes; but our eyes could 
not behold thy splendor, nor could our minds com¬ 
prehend thy divine essence; we see thee only 
through thy stupendous and all-perfect works; we 
know thee only by that ray of sacred light which 
it has pleased thee to reveal. Nevertheless, if 
creatures too ignorant to conceive and too depraved 
to pursue the means of their own happiness, may, 
without presumption, express their wants to their 
Creator, let us humbly supplicate thee to remove 
from us that evil which thou hast permitted, for a 
time, to exist, that the ultimate good of all may be 
complete, and to secure us from that vice which 
thou sulFerest to spread snares around us, that the 
triumph of virtue may be more conspicuous. Irra- 


93 


diate our minds with all useful truth; instil into 
our hearts a spirit of general benevolence; give 
understanding to the foolish; meekness to the proud; 
temperance to the dissolute; fortitude to the feeble 
hearted; hope to the desponding; faith to the un- 
I believing; diligence to the slothful; patience to 
} those who are in pain, and thy celestial aid to those 
i who are in danger; comfort the afflicted ; relieve 
. the distressed; supply the hungry with salutary 
food, and the thirsty with a plentiful stream. Im¬ 
pute not our doubts to indifference, nor our slow¬ 
ness of belief to hardness of heart; but be indul¬ 
gent to our imperfect nature, and supply our im¬ 
perfections by thy heavenly favor. Whenever we 
address thee in our retirement from the vanities of 
the world, if our prayers are foolish, pity us; if 
presumptuous, pardon us; if acceptable to thee, 
grant them, all-powerful God, grant them; and, 
as with our living voice, and with our dying lips, 
we will express our submission to thy decrees, 
adore thy providence, and bless thy dispensations, 
so, in all future states, to which we reverently hope 
thy goodness will raise us, grant that we may con¬ 
tinue praising, admiring, venerating, and worship¬ 
ping thee more and more, through worlds without 
number, and ages without end! 

Do thou graciously accept our thanks, O thou 
giver of all good, for having preserved us another 


94 


night, and bestowed on us another day. O grant 
that on this day we may meditate on thy law with 
joyful veneration, and keep it in all our actions 
with firm obedience. 

And, O thou bestower of all good, while it shall 
please thee to continue our easy tasks in this life, 
grant us strength to perform them as faithful ser¬ 
vants; and when in thy wisdom thou shalt see fit to 
end them, admit us, not weighing our unworthiness, 
but through thy mercy declared in Christ, into thy 
heavenly mansions, that we may continually ad¬ 
vance in happiness by advancing in true knowledge 
and awful love of thee. May the grace of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the 
fellowship of the Holy Ghost, be with us all for 
evermore. Amen. 


PRAYER XXXI. 

A daily private prayer, suited to one who sustains the relations of 
father, master and husband, but which may be modified so as to be 
adapted to mothers, wives and mistresses, and, by the omission of 
certain parts, to any Christians. 

O eternal Almighty, most holy but merciful 
Lord God ; vouchsafe to hear the prayers of a poor 
sinful creature, who comes to thee weary and hea¬ 
vy laden with the burthen of his sins, but asking 
mercy and grace in the name of thy son Jesus Christ. 
O God, my sins are numerous and aggravated. 
My heart is hard. My mind is dark. My thoughts 



95 


are vain. My words are idle. I mispend my pre¬ 
cious time. I abuse my talents. I neglect my duty. 
I forget thee, and disregard thy laws. I am earth¬ 
ly, sensual, devilish; being too much taken up with 
the things of this life; being under the power of 
my fleshly lusts, and having in me the evil tempers 
of the wicked one. I am prone to peevishness and 
anger. I fail in the duties of every relation of life. 
I want true love. 

But, O God, guilty and wretched as I am, thou 
hast promised pardon and grace even to such as 
me. O that thou wouldst give me to see and feel 
the dreadful evil of sin, and make me truly to re¬ 
pent of all that is sinful in my heart and life. O 
that thou wouldst increase my faith in Jesus Christ, 
and fill my heart with his love. O that thou wouldst 
give me the constant help and comfort of thy Holy 
Spirit, that I may perform every duty aright, and 
rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. O 
that thou wouldst give me grace to overcome sin, 
so that it may not have the dominion over me. O 
for a heart weaned from the world, and devoted to 
God. O for the graces of charity, meekness, sin¬ 
cerity, truth, justice, diligence, zeal, and purity. 
O for a loving heart to God and man. O for a 
tender conscience and self-denying temper, a mor¬ 
tified body, an humble spirit, a faithful soul, a heart 
ever thankful, a mind ever contented, and a will 


96 


always readily and cheerfully acquiescing in all the 
dispensations of Providence. O that it may ever 
be the chief desire of my soul, and constant labor 
of my life, to do good in the station wherein thou 
hast placed me. 

For my children, O God, the prayer and desire 
of my heart is that they may be saved. Ever keep 
far from me all ambitious desires for them in this 
life. To thee and thy service I desire unreserved¬ 
ly to dedicate them. Teach me how, and give me 
grace, by example, instruction and godly discipline, 
to bring them up in thy nurture and admonition. 
Preserve them, O God, from the faults they behold 
in me, and let not my unworthiness prevent thy 
blessings from descending upon them. O that thou 
wouldst give me more patience, more love, more 
tenderness, more watchfulness, and more anxious 
solicitude for them. O that thou wouldst give thy 
Holy Spirit to them, that it may convert their souls 
to thee, and save them from everlasting misery. 

O heavenly Master, hear me while I lift up my 
heart in prayer for those unfortunate beings who 
call me master. O God, make known unto me my 
whole duty towards them and their oppressed race, 
and give me courage and zeal to do it at all events. 
Convince me of sin, if I be wrong in retaining 
them another moment in bondage. While they 
are with me, give me grace to render unto them 


97 


what is just and equal, remembering that I have a 
master in heaven. Give me an earnest desire and 
longing for their spiritual welfare, and direct me 
into the best means of promoting it. Preserve me 
from all impatience and anger, and from all unrea¬ 
sonable expectations from them; from all unkind¬ 
ness of language, manner, or conduct towards them; 
from indulging a suspicious and complaining tem¬ 
per, and from that threatening which the Apostle 
forbids. May I take a generous pleasure in con¬ 
tributing to their happiness, and never suffer them 
to want for that food and raiment, and those other 
comforts which they so richly deserve at my hands. 
Bless the labor of their hands to our common bene¬ 
fit, and may the earth yield its fruits for our com¬ 
mon use. But, above all, O God, convert their 
immortal souls by thy Spirit, and give them the 
glorious liberty of the sons of God. 

I invoke thy blessing, also, O, God, upon her 
whom thou hast given to be nvy companion in life. 
May I always love her, and never be hitter against 
her. May it ever be my delight to promote all 
her reasonable wants and desires. May she prove 
a great blessing to myself, my children and ser¬ 
vants. Grant us a more pure and spiritual affec¬ 
tion towards each other; and may our prayers as- 
cen S together fervently and effectually to a throne 
of t>:ace; and, O God, if such a prayer be allow- 
9 


98 


able, long may she be spared to her unworthy hus¬ 
band. 

. O God, enlarge my heart in love towards all 
mankind. Give me a candid, charitable and lov¬ 
ing spirit towards all the followers of Christ. Give 
me a perfect sincerity in all matters of difference 
among Christians. May truth and thy glory be 
the only objects at which I aim. May I ever take 
a lively interest in all the good works which thy 
servants are promoting upon earth, and never be 
wanting in the most active and liberal assistance 
which my ability and opportunity will allow me to 
afford. O God, prosper thou all benevolent and 
religious institutions, and, especially, be with thy 
missionary servants in foreign lands, so that the 
glorious time may speedily arrive, when the whole 
world shall be covered with the knowledge of the 
Lord. 

O God, be witji me this day in all places and 
employments. Keep me this day from all evil, es¬ 
pecially from sin. Set a guard before my mouth, 
and keep the door of my lips. May the spirit of 
Christ be in my heart, and the law of kindness on 
my tongue. May my conscience be void of offence 
both towards God and man. May I never be un¬ 
mindful of thy presence; and ever may I think, 
speak and act as one soon to die, and to be eternal¬ 
ly rewarded or punished according to the deeds 


99 


done in the body. Grant these things to a poor 
weak creature, who asks them in the name of one 
who is the only hope of sinners, Jesus Christ, the 
righteous, to whom, with the Father, etc. 


PRAYER XXXir. 

A prayer for young persons. 

O thou most holy but most merciful God, I be¬ 
seech thee to look down from heaven upon me, a 
poor, sinful and ignorant creature. I would wish, 
at this time, to pray unto thee, but I cannot do it 
unless thou assist me by thy Holy Spirit. Grant 
me, therefore, O God, that spirit which makes us 
to feel our sinfulness, and the need we have of such 
a Saviour as Jesus Christ. I know, O Lord, that 
my prayers cannot be acceptable to thee unless they 
come from the heart; and 1 am ashamed to think 
how often I have prayed without thinking of the 
words I was using. O God, I have now come to 
that age when thou requirest of me to love thee 
with all my heart. But I do not thus love thee. 
While so many have become thy dear children, by 
adoption and grace, before they have reached my 
age, I am yet in a state of nature, living in sin, un¬ 
fit to die, unmeet for heaven. O may this thought 
continually distress my mind, and lead me to pray¬ 
er, that I may obtain a new heart, and the assu¬ 
rance of thy pardon through Jesus Christ. O 



100 


Lord, since my everlasting happiness or misery 
depends upon it, draw my heart to thee by the gen¬ 
tle influences of thy loving spirit, and make me to 
hate sin and delight in holiness. Give me grace 
to obey the injunctions of my dear parents or 
friends, who are anxious for my good, and always 
to remember how grieved they are when I go astray. 
Bless me in all my reading of thy holy word, and 
my studies of other books, and may I daily grow 
wiser, and better, and happier. 

Particulailv, O God, 1 beseech thee, to watch 
over me for good this day. Keep me from every 
evil, and, above all, from sin. Let me always re¬ 
member that thou art near me, beholding the evil 
and the good. May I speak the truth from my 
heart, and always do to others as I would they 
should do to me. All these things I beg in the 
name of my blessed Saviour, in whose own pre¬ 
cious words I know' that thou wilt always delight 
to hear me pray. Our Father, who art in 
heaven; hallowed be tby name; thy kingdom come $ 
thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; 
give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us 
our trespasses, as we forgive these who trespass 
against us; lead us not into ti mptaticn, but deliver 
us from evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the 
power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. 


101 


PRAYER XXXIII. 

A prayer to be used by Parents, taken from the Baptismal and 
Confirmation Offices. 

Almighty and everlasting God, Heavenly Fa¬ 
ther, we beseech thee of thine infinite mercies, that 
thou wouldst mercifully look upon our children, 
and give unto them thy Holy Spirit, that they 
may be born again, and be made heirs of everlast¬ 
ing salvation. Grant that the old Adam in them 
may be so buried, that the new man mdy be raised 
up in them. Grant that all sinful affections may 
die in them, and that all things belonging to the 
Spirit may live and grow in them. Grant that 
they may have power and strength to have victo¬ 
ry, and to triumph against the Devil, the world, 
and the flesh. Grant that they who have been 
dedicated to thee in baptism, may enjoy the ever¬ 
lasting benediction of thy heavenly washing, and, 
receiving the fulness of thy grace, may ever re¬ 
main in the number of thy faithful children. 

O thou, who didst save Noah and his family in 
the ark from perishing by water, grant that our 
children being delivered from wrath, may be re¬ 
ceived into the ark of Christ’s Church; and being 
steadfast in faith, joyful through hope, and rooted 
in charity, may so pass the waves of this trouble¬ 
some world, that finally they may come to the 
9 * 


102 


land of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord. 

Vouchsafe to direct, sanctify, and govern both 
their hearts and bodies in the ways of thy laws, and 
in the works of thy commandments; make them 
both to will and to do those things which are good 
and acceptable unto thy divine majesty. Let thy 
fatherly hand, we beseech thee, ever he over them; 
let thy Holy Spirit he ever with them; and defend 
them, O Lord, with thy heavenly grace, that they 
may continue thine for ever, and daily increase in 
thy Holy Spirit more and more, until they come to 
thy everlasting kingdom. Amen. 


PRAYER XXXIY. 

A prayer to be used by Ministers for themselves, taken from the 
Office of Institution and the Ordination services. 

O Lord, my God, am not worthy that thou 
shouldst come under my roof; yet thou hast honor¬ 
ed thy servant with appointing him to stand in thy 
house and serve at thy holy altar. To thee and 
thy service I devote myself, soul, body, and spirit, 
with all their powers and faculties. Fill my mem¬ 
ory with the word of thy law; enlighten my un¬ 
derstanding with the illumination of the Holy 
Ghost; and may all the wishes and desires of my 
will centre in what thou hast commanded. Be 




103 


ever with me in the performance of all the duties 
of my ministry; in prayer, to quicken my devotion; 
in praises, to heighten my love and gratitude; and 
in preaching, to "give a readiness of thought and 
expression suitable to the clearness and excellency 
of thy word. 

Grant me grace, O God, to be diligent in pray¬ 
er, and in reading the holy scriptures, and in such 
studies as help to the knowledge of thy name, lay¬ 
ing aside the study of the world and the flesh. 

Grant me grace to frame and fashion myself and 
family according to the doctrine of Christ, and 
to make both myself and it, as much as in us 
lieth, wholesome examples and patterns to the 
flock of Christ. Help me to maintain and set for¬ 
ward, as much as lieth in me, quietness, peace and 
love among all Christian people, and especially 
among them that are or shall be committed to my 
charge. 

Help me reverently to obey all those who, ac¬ 
cording to the canons of the Church, may have the 
charge and government over me; following with a 
glad mind and will, their godly admonitions, and 
submitting myself to their godly judgments. 

Make me ready with- all faithful diligence to 
banish and drive away from the Church all erro¬ 
neous and strange doctrines contrary to God : s 
word; and to use both public and private moni- 


104 


tions and exhortations, as well to the rich as the 
poor within my cure, as need shall require, and 
occasion shall be given. 

Enable me to deny all ungodliness and worldly 
lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in 
this present world, that, I may show myself, in all 
things, an example of good works, that the adver¬ 
sary may be ashamed, having nothing to say 
against me. 

Almighty God, who hast given unto me a good 
will to do all these things, grant also unto me 
strength and power to perform the same, that 
accomplishing in me the good work which thou 
hast begun, I may be found perfect and irrepre- 
hensible at the latter day, through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. 


[We hope that none will mistake so much as to suppose that the fol¬ 
lowing 1 p nitential exercises, from the holy and eloquent Bishop Tay¬ 
lor, are only designed for the vilest of unconverted sinners. The pu¬ 
rest of saints in every age, have found such confessions and prayers 
but too suitable to their case. Would all Christians use this guide to 
penitence once every week, and try and enter deeply into its meaning, 
who can doubt but that they would become thereby better acquainted 
with the corruptions of their hearts, and more humbly dependent upon 
divine mercy for their salvation. The author of the foregoing collec¬ 
tion of family prayers, would beg leave earnestly to recommend the 
weekly use of this most striking confessional, of one of the most inte¬ 
resting and gifted of Christian divines.] 



105 


A guide: for tiie penstent. 

ABRIDGED FROM BISHOP TAYLOR. 

A Litany ol confession, to be made use of by the penitent soul, 
that finds itself burlhened with a true sense of sin. 

I. . 

Wo, wo, unto me, 0 God, that being a creature of thine, 
and made by thee capable of enjoying everlasting felicity, I 
have lived so wickedly and lewdly, that unless thy mercy 
prevent it, I shall utterly forfeit the very end of my creation. 

But 1 repent, O my God, I repent. 

I am utterly ashamed of it. 

Lord be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

II. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that I have trifled away so many 
of my youngest days without knowing thee, or taking notice 
of any of those strict duties which I did owe unto thee; that 
I was so long a child in all things, excepting innocence; and 
that only by an over-hasty spring of early wickedness, I was 
more than a child. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I am utterly ashamed of it. 

Lord be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

IIL 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that as I grew tfp, the seeds of 
corruption which I brought with me into the world grew up 
along with me, and by insensible degrees, pride and folly, 
and lust took possession of me, and sin hath reigned in my 
mortal body. 

But I repent, 0 my God, I repent. 

I am infinitely confounded at it. 

Lord be thou merciful to me a sinner. 


106 


IV. 

Wo, wo, unto me, 0 God, that having been received into the 
bosom of thy Church, (which so many souls have not had the 
happiness to be,) I have ungratefully dishonored thy holy 
faith by an unholy life; and having so often confessed thee 
with my tongue, I have denied thee in mylife and actions. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I accuse, and judge, and condemn myself for it. 

Lord be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

V- 

Wo, wo, unto me, 0 God, that having abjured the Devil and 
all his works, and given up my name to Christ, to fight under 
the banner of the cross, I have on the contrary, treacherously 
complied with his enemy in many things, and shall be found 
(I fear) to have been more diligent in serving him, than I 
have been in serving thee. 

But I repent, 0 my God, I repent. 

I am confounded and astonished at it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

VI. 

Wo, wo, unto me, 0 God, that being farther bound by that 
most solemn vow, utterly to forsake the sinful lusts of the 
flesh, I have, instead of forsaking them, pursued and hunted 
after them; and when other temptations have failed, have 
been apt enough to kindle my own fire, and to be a tempter to 
myself. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I hate, and loath, and abhor myself for it. 

Lord be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

VII. 

Wo, wo, untome, O God, that knowing thy revealed will to 
be the law to which l was bound in all obedience to submit 


107 


myself, I like an insolent rebel, have not only set up my own 
will in opposition to thine, but many times preferred it be¬ 
fore thine, and have listened more to the false oracles of 
flesh and blood than to all thy holy commandments. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I accuse, and judge, and condemn myself for it. 

Lord be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

VIII. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that having received a rational 
soul from thee, to be a moral light and guide unto my actions, 
I have been so brutish as to follow my sensual appetite in¬ 
stead of it, and have made no farther use of reason than to 
find out vain excuses to cozen my own soul into all the bye- 
ways of sin and error. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I accuse arid judge, and condemn myself for it. 

Lord be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

IX. 

Wo, wo, unto me, 0 God, that being endowed with memo¬ 
ry to serve as a magazine to treasure up thy precepts and holy 
councils in, I have stuffed it so miserably full with the ideas 
of former vanities and sins, that I have left no room for thee 
at all. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I infinitely condemn myselffor it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

X. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that having received a heart 
from thee to be the seat of clean and holy affections, I have so 
unworthily abused and altered the property of it, that it is 
now become a den of thieves, and an unhandsome receptacle 
of all uncleanness. 


108 


But I repent, O my God, I repent* 

I hate, and loath, an 1 abhor myself for it* 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XI. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that my wretched heart being 
corrupted, my imagination hath run wildly after with a swarm 
of vain and sinful thoughts, which, like importunate flies, 
being driven away, light again a,id again upon my distracted 
soul, and intermingle with the best of my devotions. 

But I repent, O my God, 1 repent. 

I am infinitely troubled and grieved for it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XII. 

Wo, wo, unto me, 0 God, that mine eyes being greedy 
after vanity, have been, upon all occasions, as open windows 
to let in sin; but when, by the same way, they should have 
issued out penitential tears, to wash away the stains those 
sins have made, there hath been no passage found for them. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I am inwardly grieved, and deplore myself for it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XIII. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O my God, that for the entertaining of 
vain conversation, I have left mine ears too often open to 
light, and vain, and sinful discourses, and, in all my inquiries, 
have hearkened more to what the world suith abroad, than to 
what thy Holy Spirit and my own conscience say within me. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

1 accuse, and judge, and condemn myself for it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 


109 


XIV. 

Wo, wo, unto mo, 0 God, that I hive not resolved, with thy 
servant David, to take care of my ways, that I offend not in 
my tongue, hut have many times vainly and inconsiderately- 
let it loose, and, either to please the company Or myself, I 
have spoken words which might, unhappily, prove occasion 
of sin both to them and me, without regard, or remembering 
how great flames such little sparks might kindle, 
ut I repent, 0 my God, I repent. 

I do infinitely condemn myself for it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XV. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that all the parts and faculties 
of my soul and body have hern abused, and have not served 
the laws of their Creator, but have so eagerly and constantly 
pursued the corrupt desires of a seduced heart, that I have 
cause to fear that either my whole life may be looked upon 
as one continued sin, or, at least, as having admitted of so 
few inconsiderable pauses, that, if thou shouldst enter into 
strict judgment with me, I should not have the confidence to 
say when, or where, or wherein, I have been innocent. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I am confounded and astonished at it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XVI. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that I have wretchedly failed, 
even in my best endeavors; that I have been cold in my devo- t 
lions, weary of my prayers, inconstant to go >d purposes, dull 
and heavy in the way to heaven, but q lick and active in all 
the ways of sin—having ma le it the w hole business of my life 
rather to seem to be religious than really to be so. , 

10 


no 


But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

1 accuse, and judge, and condemn myself for it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XVII. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that I have not washed mine hands 
in innocency, when I have gene unto thine altar, nor made 
tny heart ready to receive the bread that came from heaven, 
but have failed in mv preparations, and have not sufficiently 
considered either mine own unworthiness, or the high secrets 
of so great a mystery. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I am grieved and troubled at it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

#• 

XVIII. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that, having so often received 
those inestimable pledges of tliy love, tlie precious body and 
blood of thy dear Son in the holy sacrament, 1 have been so 
tinwary as to admit my former sins under the same roof with 
thee, and have, unhappily, done what lay in me to drive thee 
from me. 

But I repent, O myuod, I repent. 

I am infinitely^ishamed at it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XIX. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that, my repentance, the only 
plank left me in the shipwreck of my soul, hath been so weak, 
6& slight, and so unsteady, that every small blast of a new 
temptation hath been able to drive me from it, and, by fre¬ 
quent relapses into s*», gives me cause enough to repent even 
of my vain repentaqce. 


Ill 


But I repent again,!) God,aga n 1 repent. 

1 hate, ami loath, and abhor myselff.r it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XX. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that, having received my life, and 
being, and preservation from thee, with so many advantages 
to have made me happy in this world and blessed in the next* 
I have been so abominably unthankful, that I have cast all 
these thv blessings behind me, and returned thee nothing 
back for dll thy favors, but affronts, and injuries, and sins. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

I am confounded and astonished at it. 

Lord, be thou meiciful to me a sinner. 

XXL 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that, being redeemed by tho 
death and passion of thy dear and only Son, 1 have not laid 
bis bitter agonies to heart, nor made right use of the precious 
ransom which was laid down for me; that I have not yet sued 
out my pardon with such penitent tears as thou requirest, nor 
laid hold of the benefits of it by a lively faith ; but have cho<* 
sen, rather stupidly, to continue in my sins, and to neglect 
the blood of the covenant as an unholy thing. 

But I repent, O my God, I repent. 

1 hate, and loath, and abhor myself for it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XXII. 

Wo, w'o, unto me, O God, that thy Holy Spirit I have 
grieved, thy counsels I have rejected, thy motions I have 
quenched, and havecnteit ined t ie lusts and vanities of this 
life with far more earnest and psssionate affections than all 
thy holy inspirations. 


112 


But l repent, O my God, I repent. 

1 am u terly ashamed and confounded at it. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

XXIII. 

Wo, wo, unto me, O God, that, having thus far opened fny 
heart before thee, I have left so many sins behind, that I can¬ 
not rfemember them; some that I have really forgot, some 
Chat I would forget, if my conscience would give me leave; 
sins known, that I cannot conceal, and sins secret, such as I 
have taken so much care to hide from others, that they are 
now become hidden from myself. 

But whatsoever they are, or wheresoever they are register¬ 
ed, whether in my own conscience or in any other record, 
Chat may be proved against me in the day of judgment, 

I call the whole court of heaven to witness, 

That I do sadly repent myself of them all; 

That I do abhor myself for them all; 

That I resolve steadfastly to renounce them all. 

Lord, be thou merciful to me a sinner. 

[After this, these express acts of contrition may follow.] 

I am grieved, O my God, I am grieved, passionately, hearti¬ 
ly grieved, that ever I offended thee. 

That I, the work of thy hands, have sinned against thee 
my Maker. 

That I, the price of thy blood, have sinned against thee, 
my Jesus, who hadstso much love for me as to be content to 
die for me. 

Th t 1, the chosen temple of thy Holy Spirit, have sinned 
against him who sanctifie d me. 

For this I grieve and mourn, and my heart is wounded 
within me. 


113 


Anri having done all this, yet I hate not done; for still 1 
am grieved—grieved that I can grieve no more, that my head 
is not a continual spring, and mine eyes fountains of 
tears. 

Wo is mo, wretch as I am, that I, who have been so easy, 
so forward, so eager to sin, should be so untoward, so heavy, 
so unable to repent. 

Wo is me, that 1 should still - be so drowsy, so dead asleep 
in sin, that I should not be yet awake, and sensible of the 
condition I am in. 

O that I had died before my unworthy soul had given way 
to those first sins, which have drawn so foul a train after them. 

But, O my God, though I cannot wait on thee among the 
innocen*, yet deny me not a room among the penitent. 

Of myself, 0 God, I am utterly unable, and which way to 
satisfy thee I know tint. 

I dare not say so much as the servant in the gospel did, 
“Master, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.’* 
But, rather, Master, have patience with me, for 1 can pay 
thee nothing at all, unless thy bounty be so gieut as to give it 
me to pay thee. 

Should I fast myself into air and emptiness, and weep my¬ 
self into water; should I tear fhe skin from this sinful flesh 
of mine, l should never be able to satisfy for the least of those 
millions of midions of sins, which, through the several mo¬ 
ments of my life, either ignorantly or knowingly, weakly or 
wilfully, I have sinned against thee. 

But the comfort is (and blessed sha’l be my soul if I right¬ 
ly lay h >ld of it,) that it is thou, 0 my blessed Jesus, who 
has satisfied for me, one drop of whose blood is enough to 
satisfy for the sins of a thousand world*. 

And this being so, will thy offended Father he so rigorous 
10 * 


114 


fs to r>ouire the same payment again ? Especially, will he 
require it of me, a po»r,a broken, an I a bankrupt sinner? 

Ctiist thou exact the utmost farthing of him who hath not 
a mite of his own to pay thee? 

The transition of the penitent from acts of contrition to acts of holy 

resolution. 

But because by thy infinite mercy, O my God, thou hast 
satisfied for m^ already, shall I, therefore, fold mv arms and 
sit clown and do nothing towards it? Or, which is worse, 
shall I go on? Shall I continue in my sins that grace may 
&boun I ? 

No; God forbid. 

No; I here resolve rather to die the death, than ever wil¬ 
fully to sin against thee more. 

Id» here reso’ve u teily to avoid the temptations and ap¬ 
proaches towards those fi rmer sins, which ha\e hitherto so 
fnisrablv betriyed me. 

I do here resolve, thy Holy Spirit assisting me, upon a ! l 
the duties of a new life; to he hereafter mere wary in my 
ways, and more constant to good resobitions; to love thee 
Above all the pleasures and interests of this life, and sadly to 
Consider what an infinite loser I should be, if, to gain all that 
fcay corrupt heart desires, I should lose thee. 

If, after all this, I should be so miserably forgetful, both of 
rnvself and thee, as shamefully to relapse into any of those 
*ins which I have now repented of, I do here once more re¬ 
solve to abhor and loathe myself for it, and not to let my 
Conscience sleep or admit of any rest, till I have, with bitter 
tears and sharp reiterated repentance, obtained my pardon. 

The ppnitent now betakes himself to prayer. 

And now, 0 thou great searcher of hearts, who seest that 
I am of myself weak and mutable, and no better than a reed 


115 


shaken with the win 1, O hew thy strength in my weakness; 
fasten and c mfirm me in these good purposes, anl so hind 
them with cords unto thine altar, that I may never depart from ' 
thee mor *, or he anv longer of those whose good resolutions 
are as a dr.-?am in the night, or, if they last any longer, they 
are but as the next morning dew, an I as soon vanish away. 

O give me the resolution of thy servant Joshua: 

I arid my house will serve the Lord. 

O give me the heart of thy serv iut David, who so passion* 
ateL makes his protestation : 

I will take no wicked thing in hand, I hate the sins of un¬ 
faithfulness; there shall no such cleave unto me. 

I-will walk in my house with a perfect heart. 

I hive sworn and am steadfastly prep ire J to keep thy 
righteous judgments. 

Lord, I am not able to think one of these good thoughts 
without thee, much less t«> revolve upon them. 

But I who, without thee, am able to do nothing, nny ven-, 
ture to say as thine Apostles did, th.t in thee I am able to do 

all things. 

Lo*d give me strength to do what thou requires*, and then 
require of me what thou j leasest. 

Afitt these resolutions, the penitent prepares himself, with an hum¬ 
ble soul and bended knees, to beg pardon. 

Lord, carest thou not that I perish? Thou that wouldst 
have ad men saved? Tin u who would hire none perish? 

And wilt thou now show thine anger againt a worm* 
again 't a leaf, against a vapour that vanishes helore thee? 

O r.Mtember how short my time is, and deliver not my soul 
into the power of hell. 

For, alas! what profit is the e in my blood? or who shall 
ever give thee thanks in that bottomless p t? 

No, let me live in thy sight. let me live, O my God, that 
my soul may praise thee. 


116 


Forget me as I have been, disobedient, provoking thee to 
anger; and regard me as I an?, distressed, crying out to thee 
for help. 

Look not upon me as I am, a sinner; but consider me as 
J am, thy cieature. 

A sinner I am, I confess, a sinner of no ordinary strain? 
but let not this hinder thee, 0 my God, for upon such sinners 
thou gettest the greatest glory. 

0 remember for whose sake it was that thou earnest from 
the bosom of thy Father, and didst let thyself down so low 
as to be content to be born of thine own hirnble handmaid. 

Remember for whom it was tint thy tend r body was torn, 
and scourged and crucified, and thy preci >us blood shed. 

Was it not for the sins of the whole world? And shall I be 
so narrow-hearte 1 to my own soil, or so injurious to thy 
glory, as to think that in all this crowd thou hast particularly 
excepted me? 

Or, which is as great a dishonor to thee, can! possibly ima¬ 
gine that thou diedst only for sinners of a lower kind, and left- 
est such as I am without remedy? 

Wh t had become then of him who filled Jerusalem with 
blood? 

What ofthe noted woman who had lived in a trade of sin? 
Nay, what had become of thine own disciple, who with oaths 
and curses thrice denied thee? 

O how easy is it for thee to forgive, for it is thy nature. 

How proper it is for thee to save, for it is thy name. 

How suitable is it to thy only end of coming into the world, 
for it is thy business. 

And when I consider that I am the chief of sinners, may I 
not urge the Father, and say, shall the very chief of thy busi¬ 
ness he left undone? 

Mercy, mercy good Lord. 



117 


I as!t not of thee any longer the things of this world; 
neither power, nor honors, nor riches, n>r pleasures. No, 
my God, dispose of them to whom thou pleasest, so that thou 
givest me mercy. 

0 that I could hear thee once say, as thou didst to him in 
the gospel, “My son, be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven 
thee/’ 

How would my drooping spirits revive at such a sound, 
and my now wounded soul break forth into hymns, and 
praises, and hallelujahs, for a mer y so utterly undeserved of 
me, and which the angels which fell could never hear of. 

But, O my weak soul, what dost thou fear? or what dost 
thou scruple at? For thou ait 11 >t yet in such a desperate 
condition, but thou mayst expect that what was said to him 
may possibly be said to thee. 

Nav, be contident (though it be with a mixture of fear and 
trembling) tint if thou dost not act the part of an hypocrite 
all this while, thy Saviour stands ready at the very doors of 
thy heart, to breathe the very same words in a heavenly whis¬ 
per to thee : “Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee.”] 

Return unto thy rest, O tny soul, for thy sins are forgiven 
thee. 

Otdy take this counsel along with thee, “Sin no more, lest 
a worse thing fall unto thee.” 

O that I could never sin against thee more; never pur¬ 
posely, deliberately, wilfully sin against thee more. 

And for tho^e sins of daily incursion, these over familiar 
corruptions of my nature, which thou hast not yet given me 
strei g h enough to couqtur, Lord, c ither subdue them to 
me by degrees, o ' lay them not to my charge. 

But whereinsoever my conscience most accuseth, therein, 
0 my God, be thou most merci.ul unto me. 


113 


Save me, 0 God, as a brand snatched out o' the fire. 

Receive me, O my Jesus, as a sheep that hath wan .ered, 
hut is now returned to tiic great Shepherd a.id Bishop of my 
soul. 

The jubilee of the penitent soul after the sense of pardon obtained. 

Rejoice over me, 0 God the Father, that this thy child 
was lost, but is found, was dead, but is alive again. 

Rejoice over me, 0 God the Son, that thy loud cries, and 
tears, and hitter agonies, which for my sake thou enduredst 
upon the cross, were not so unhappily lost as to be cast 
away in vain upon me. 

Rejoice over me, O God the Holy Ghost, that thy so many 
secret an I powerful touches have at last got the upper hand 
of me. 

Rejoice over me, O ye Indy Angels, a great part of whose 
ministry it is to rejoice at the conversion of a sinner. 

Rejoice over thys^ If, O my sou', that thou hast received so 
much grace from heaven this day, as sadly to confess thy 
sins, seriously to repent of them, and s?eadfas;ly to resolve 
never to be guilty more of so much brutishness as to be 
likened to the deg that returns to his vomit, or to the swine 
wallowing in the in re. 

The penitent closeth all with this short prayer. 

Let th's day, 0 my Go \ be noted in thy book. 

Do not thou forget my prayers, nor suffer me to forget my 
resolut ons. 

For though I am weak, tl ough I am cmvorthy, though I 
unprofitable, \et I am thy servant. 

And here upon my b< tided knees I hum! ly hrg of thee # 
that I may live and die so. 

Lord, hear my j rayers, and !et my cry come unto thee. 


119 


I/ir 1, pardon mv prayers, ami let not my colJ less, and 
wanderings, and infinite unw >r Jiiiie<s t jr i them in o sin. 

Lord, hear my prayers, and let my cry come unto thee. 
Amen, amen. 


The following lamentation over sin is taken from the celebrated work 
of the good Thomas-a«Kemj)is, entitled, “The Imitadon of Christ.” 
It will be fouu 1 to suit but too well the case of many Christians 
mourning over their short comings and backsliding*. 

O Lord God, what shall ever be done with me since I fail 
every day? How shall I amend mv life? When will it he 
better with me? When shall I recover ^length? And when 
Bhall I overcome a’l? I am fallen down into a deep pit. 

Thinkest thou, 0 Lord, that there may be yet any hopes of 
my rising again, of my amending, and of my safe arising? 
I have no hope at all for mys* If. O that it may be strong in 
thee! for mighty despair is thrown upon me, because of my 
infirmity, which through long vexation grows upon me very 
much. Neither can I see any end of my grief, of my in qu ty. 
And though 1 should say, now I will begin, 1 will endeavor 
to my very utmost, sin presently stands at-the door, and my 
enemy is lifted up again t me, and the habit of evil holds me 
captive against mv will. Behold, 0 Lord, the dejectedness of 
my state, and how I am trod down, and what calamity [ en¬ 
dure. Let thy right laud be lifted up, and deliver thou me 
from the n that have shut me up, for fear of them lias fallen 
upon me. Counsel hath perished from me, and strength hath 
failed me. My arm also is broken, and n y sword will not be 
able to save me. I see not unto whom I can turn myself; 
neither doth any one appear that may relieve and tak ? care 
of ine. Thou a one remainest a refuge for me; hut lx cause 
I have offended thre, therefore this deterrest me. I have 





120 


sinned; 0 pardon me. All that is within me doth repent; 
yea very bitterly. Do nn o me Lord vvhat seecneth right in 
thy sight, and be thou re-one led unto me. Just’y hast thou 
indeed forsaken me, ;;nd delivered me over to the adversary. 
Yet rememb< r, I beseech thee, the werk of thy hand; and 
rai.-e up again what is fallen, since of itself it was not able to 
stand. Give ear unto my groaning, and attend to my neces¬ 
sity. Let not my di'tiess ai d the rief of my heart be had in 
forgetfulness before th< e. Have regard, merciful Father, to 
my captivity and imprisoi ment, ai d to the oppression which 
I suffer from sin; lead me forth out of the house of miserable 
bondage wheiein I am bound fast and kept prisoner. 

The compiler of this little volume of prayers knows not how he can 
Letter conclude it, than with the following exquisite piece of devo- 
lion from the works of the amiable and pious Fenelon. It most hap¬ 
pily describes the meek and lowly state of mind to which some Chris¬ 
tians attain, and which we seckafler. 

“I ord, teach us to piay.”—Luke ii. 1. 

0 Lord, I know i ot what I should of thee. Thou 
only knowrst what 1 wml; and thou lotrcst me better than I 
can love myself. 0 Lord, give to me, thy child, what is pro¬ 
per, whatsoever it may be. I dare not ask either crosses or 
comforts. I only piesent myself before thee. 1 open my 
heart to thee. Behold my wants which I am ignorant of; 
but do thou behold, and do according to thy mercy. Smite 
or heal; depress or raise me up. I adore all thy purposes 
without knowing them. I am silent. I offer myself in sacri¬ 
fice. I abandon myself to thee. I have no more any desire 
but to accomplish thy will. Teach me to pray. Pray thou 
thyself in me. 



CONTENTS, 


- 0 ^ 0 - 

Excellent Remarks on Prayer, by Bishop Wilson.5 

Prayer I. From the Scriptures — Morning or Evening****9 
II. From the Scriptures—Morning or Evening**11 
III From the Scriptures—Morning or Evening**14 

IV. From the Scriptures—Morning or Evening- • 16 

V. From the Scriptures—Morning or Evening* *19 

VI. From Bishop Wilson—Morning.22 

VII. From Bishop Wilson—Evening.24 

VIII. From Bishop Wilson—Morning.27 

IX. From Bishop Wilson—Evening.30 

X. From Bishop Wilson—Morning.33 

XI. From Bishop Wilson—Evening.35 

XII. From Bishop W ilson—Morning.38 

XIII. From Bishop Wilson—-Evening .*41 

XIV. From Bishop Wilson—Lord’s Prayer para¬ 

phrased—Morning.44 

XV. From Bishop Wilson—Lord’s Prayer para¬ 

ph razed—Evening.47 

XVI. From Bishop Wilson—Sabbath Morning••••49 

XVII. From Bishop Wilson—Sabbath Evening****52 

XVIII. Abridged from the Litany—Morning or 

Evening.. 55 

XIX. Selected from the Book of Common Prayer 

Sabbath Morning..**57 

XX. From the Book of Common Prayer.—Sab¬ 
bath Evening.60 

XXL From the Book of Common Prayer—Morn¬ 
ing or Evening.63 

XXII. From the Book of Common Prayer—Morn¬ 
ing or Evening.66 

XXIII. From the Book of Common Prayer—Morn¬ 
ing- . 69 

XXIV. From the Book of Common Prayer—Even¬ 

ing.* 72 

XXV. From the Communion Service—Morning or 

Evening. 75 

XXVI. From the Book of Common Prayer—Morn¬ 

ing or Evening.79 

XXVII. A Thanksgiving—From the Book of Com¬ 
mon Prayer—Morning.82 

XXVIII. From the Book of Common Prayer—Morn¬ 
ing or Evening.85 



























Prayer XXIX. From the Book of Common Prayer— 

Morning.*.89 

XXX. Morning—A combination of three Pjayers 

of the celebrated Sir Wm. Jones*••• ••••91 
XXXI. A daily Private Prayer, suited to one who 
sustains the relations of father, mother, 
and husband, but which may be modi¬ 
fied so as to be adapted to mothers, wives, 
and mistresses, and by the omission of cer¬ 


tain parts, to any Christians .94 

XXXII. A Prayer for young persons.90 


XXXIII. A Prayer to be used by parents, taken from 

the baptismal and confirmation offices* *101 
XXXIV. A Prayer to be used by ministers for them¬ 
selves, taken from the office of institu¬ 
tion and the ordination services.102 

A Guide for the Penitent —Abridged from Bishop 
Taylor. A Litany of Confession, to be made use of 
by Penitents who find themselves burthened by a 

sense of sin.105 

A Lamentation over Sin —From Thomas-a-Kempis**119 
A Prayer from Fenelon —“Lord, teach us to pray”* • 120 


ESIMTA. 

Page 1, instead of “ Mead,” read—Meade. 

Page 7, line 17, instead of “ prayer,” read—prayers. 

Page 10, lines 6 and 7, instead of “ love,” read—law, and 
line 12, instead of “livest,” read—liveth. 

Page 11, lines 4 and 5, from the bottom, the note of inter¬ 
rogation ought to be after wonder, and not after 
“thee” 

Page 12, line 2, instead of “compassion,” read—compas¬ 
sions. 

Page 17, line 22, instead of “ love,” read—law. 

Page 18, line 5 from bottom, instead of “peace,” read— 
pure. 

Page 21, line 13, instead of “ even, read—ever; Temples, 
instead of “ Temple.” 

Page 81, line 9, instead of goodly,” read—godly. 

Page 103, line 9, instead of “ thy name,” read—the same. 

Page 119, line 9, instead of “arising,” read—arriving 

Page 120, line 17, after “we” insert—all should O ^ 






























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